Seven members of the violent 800 YGz (young gunners) street gang were charged in federal court on Thursday with racketeering and firearms charges and face life in prison.
The gang members in the 11-count indictment were: Jayquan Smith, a.k.a “Six,” Rashien Jackson, a.k.a “Pop,” James Bell, a.k.a, “Dex,” Daquan Murphy, a.k.a “Fritz,” Jonathan Odenthal, a.k.a “White Boy,” Hassan Simmons, a.k.a “Hart” and Derrick Murphy, a.k.a “Yogi,” all .
Murphy and Smith were already in federal custody on separate charges and Bell and Jackson were in state custody.
“As alleged in today’s indictment, members and associates of a violent street gang wreaked havoc in the Bronx for many years, committing numerous acts of violence against rival gang members,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss. “Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners, the defendants now face federal charges for these serious crimes.”
According to the investigation, on July 8 2019, Bell shot at rival gang members, injuring two individuals, Jackson shot at rival gang members on March 27, 2020, slashed a rival gang member on Sept. 16, 2020 and possessed a firearm n relation to a drug trafficking offense on Aug. 8, 2020 and Smith shot at rival gang members on Nov. 21, 2020 and Dec. 21, 2020.
