7 Middlesex, Somerset gang members indicted on RICO charges, feds announce
NEWARK – Seven members of a New Jersey gang associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods, all from Somerset and Middlesex counties, have been indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy charges in connection with multiple homicides and other violent crimes, announced U.S. Attorney District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger.
Walter Boyd, 34, who is known as Walt and Walt Daddy; Isiah Daniels, 33, known as Ice; Joel Lyons, 21, known as Jayski; Gede Maccelus, 21, known as G Baby; Armando Ortez, 24, known as Mando; Malik Stringer, 24, known as Rambo and Kimani Wanyoike, 21, known as Ki, have been charged with racketeering conspiracy including multiple murders, fraud schemes and narcotics distribution, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Lyons, Daniels and other gang members were allegedly involved in the Sept. 13, 2020 Delafield Street shooting in New Brunswick in which two people were killed and seven others injured.
Daniels and Wanyoike are in federal custody on earlier related federal charges. Lyons and Ortiz are currently serving time in state prison. Boyd, Maccelus and Stringer are currently in state custody related to the charges filed Tuesday. All have initial court appearances to be scheduled, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The charges stem from a long-running investigation, coordinated between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Brunswick Police Department, and the Franklin Township Police Department.
According to court documents, Boyd, Daniels, Lyons, Maccelus, Ortiz, Stringer and Wanyoike were allegedly members and associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, who operated under the umbrella of the neighborhood street gangs known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in New Brunswick.
Gang members, including the defendants, are alleged to have engaged in assaults, shootings and murders, some of which targeted rival gang members and involved 17 victims, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the incidents include:
Around June 12, 2020, Daniels, along with other gang members, drove at least two cars to a gathering to pay homage to a purported rival gang member who had died. At the gathering, members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods got out of their cars and allegedly shot into a vehicle in the area of Churchill Avenue in Franklin.
Then around Aug. 1, 2020, Maccelus, Wanyoike and other gang members, allegedly at Ortiz’s direction, drove to the area of the Hope Manor housing complex in the “Down Bottom” area of New Brunswick in a stolen vehicle. Upon arriving, Wanyoike and another gang member exited the vehicle and allegedly shot one person who was an alleged gang rival, as well as two other people.
Around Sept. 13, 2020, Lyons, Daniels and other gang members used a stolen car to allegedly commit a shooting in New Brunswick that caused the deaths of one person believed to be a gang rival, another person and resulted in injuries to seven other people.
Although the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not identify the victims, Lionel Macauley, 28, of Somerset, and Anthony Robinson, 23, of New Brunswick, were both fatally injured when gunshots rang out at Delafield Street, New Brunswick house party near Rutgers University on Sept. 13, 2020 in which seven other people were injured.
Around July 19, 2021, Wanyoike possessed a firearm that allegedly was used in a shooting on or about April 30, 2021, in North Brunswick where at least seven rounds of .40-caliber ammunition were discharged from a red Hyundai as it chased an alleged rival of the Bounty Hunter Bloods.
The month before, around June 18, 2021, Boyd and other gang members gathered outside a hospital in New Brunswick to support and pay homage to a high-ranking member of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, who was allegedly shot by rivals hours earlier. Upon seeing a white Jeep they believed was occupied by rivals, Boyd and two other gang members followed the vehicle to the area of Easton Avenue in New Brunswick and after stopping, one of the gang members allegedly shot into the Jeep, killing one person and injuring another.
Around July 24, 2021, Stringer, while gathered with other gang members, possessed a firearm and allegedly attempted to fire it at a purported rival gang member in New Brunswick.
On Jan. 9, 2022, Stringer, while with another gang member in New Brunswick, got into a confrontation about narcotics distribution with purported rival gang members and allegedly shot at them, killing one person and injuring another person.
And on Jan. 20, 2022, Maccelus, while with another gang member in Franklin, allegedly possessed a loaded firearm that was allegedly used in a New Brunswick shooting that same day.
In addition, Bounty Hunter Bloods members, including the defendants, are alleged to have routinely distributed narcotics in and around the gang’s turf in both New Brunswick and Somerset, as well as engaged in various wire and bank fraud schemes to enrich themselves and fellow gang members, including schemes to defraud the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Boyd, Daniels, Lyons and Stringer each face a maximum sentence of life in prison for the racketeering conspiracy, while Maccelus, Ortiz and Wanyoike each face a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars. All the defendants face a maximum fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ gang members indicted on RICO charges, feds announce
