GANGS OF STATEN ISLAND: This is the final installment in a series examining the culture, inner workings and tragic fallout of gang-related activity in our borough, and the efforts of law enforcement and community leaders to contain it.
Part One: From the Gorilla Stone Mafia to OTA, a look at the crews operating in our borough (interactive map) | Part Two: The culture of gangs on Staten Island, as told by a man who lived it. | Part Three: The tragic fallout of S.I. gangs is felt by innocent residents, families of the fallen. | Part Four: What is the best way to stop gang violence?
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A dozen or so street gangs and crews operate in the borough — and almost all have been connected to grisly crimes and bloodshed throughout the years.
Here are some of the most notable incidents to occur on the Island in recent years:
Courthouse chaos, then a bystander’s death
July 10, 2018
Frances Williams, affectionately known as “Miss Franny,” was standing at a bus stop on Jersey Street near Pauw Street in New Brighton when she was shot and killed by a stray bullet. The shooter, Isaiah Kelson, was firing at a fleeing gang rival he spotted on the street when his bullet struck Williams, prosecutors said at the time.
Earlier in the day, Kelson and others had driven to the neighborhood bent on revenge after witnessing a friend, Robert Craigwell, 26, get run over and killed by a van containing members of a rival gang.
At around 11:30 a.m., following two fights at and near the Staten Island Courthouse in St. George between members of rival crews from New Brighton and West Brighton, a van rammed into Craigwell and then barreled into the side of a three-story home at 22 Fort Place.
The incident spurred a huge police and Fire Department response.
Police cruisers and SUVs lined Fort Place, while FDNY vehicles were spread out along Hyatt Street.
Throngs of people gathered at the site, which police immediately cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape. The episode sparked the lockdown of the courthouse.
Kelson was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for second-degree murder in Williams’ death.
Crips members kidnap couple, toddler: Feds
July 8, 2018
Two Crips street gang members and two reputed associates of the group committed a brazen daylight kidnapping at gunpoint in Port Richmond in which one of the victims was a 16-month-old toddler, authorities allege.
Staten Island residents Edward (Younggod Edde) Gotay, Barin (Scruff) Brown, Jason (Jason Ortiz) Crowder and Allen (Rugar Richmond Ace) Floyd were arrested and charged with armed kidnapping and robbery stemming from the incident.
Gotay and Floyd were identified as alleged members of the Paybacc Crips, while Brown and Crowder were reputed associates, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said at the time that the defendants surprised their victims, who believed they were meeting Brown for a marijuana sale at Slaight Street and Nicholas Avenue.
The defendants ordered a male victim and his fiancée out of their car at gunpoint and demanded money and jewelry.
The woman informed them that a child was in the back seat.
“Get in the back seat; we are not doing this here,” authorities quoted Floyd as ordering the victims.
Floyd trained a gun on the man’s head while Gotay got behind the wheel and drove the unidentified victims to their home, officials said at the time.
Once there, Floyd, Gotay and Crowder donned latex gloves and snatched the victims’ cash, marijuana, jewelry and Michael Jordan collector sneakers, authorities said.
Additionally, prior to Gotay’s arrest, a raid on his residence netted a loaded .380-caliber firearm, .380-caliber ammunition and suspected crack cocaine, among other paraphernalia, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
2 men dead, an alleged boss charged
March 10-June 22, 2021
The reputed leader of the Gorilla Stone Mafia has either been connected to or involved in several incidents in recent years.
In March, John Pena shot and killed 26-year-old Mark Bajandas, of Mariners Harbor, firing more than 10 gunshots at close range, federal prosecutors said in a count filing. At this time, he has only been charged as a felon in possession of ammunition in that incident.
The victim was visiting the memorial of former Gorilla Stone Mafia member Avanti Brock, who was killed a year earlier, feds said.
Pena fled the area after the incident and remained a fugitive for several weeks.
But he returned to Staten Island in June, where he “is believed to have committed another murder,” federal prosecutors said. In that case, he was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Francesco (Franky) Gonzalez. The victim was shot in the face while he was sleeping near his girlfriend in his New Brighton apartment.
Turf war sparks drive-by, cops say
June 22, 2015
In 2015, a drive-by shooting was reportedly sparked by a rivalry between the OTA crew in Clifton’s Park Hill and the Mariners Harbor-based Harbor Gang.
In a statement he made to police at the time, the alleged shooter, said: “I saw two kids from the Harbor in a gang called Harbor Gang that I recognized that shot at me recently about a week or two ago. I retaliated and shot back.”
Several suspects were arrested.
Fatal shooting near deli in Mariners Harbor
Dec. 2, 2017
In 2017, an alleged Latin Kings gang associate fatally shot Ivan Valentin, who was inside an SUV, police said.
Police said Valentin, 40, was sitting inside a Dodge Durango parked on Holland Avenue when he was fatally shot in the left side of the head at about 10 p.m.
Residents said the victim had been living inside the vehicle. Police sources described him as homeless.
A man who owns a business across the street from the shooting said Valentin helped him with odd jobs, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.
Carlos Perez was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2020.
Bloods leader dead in standoff with cops
Aug. 14, 2015
A quiet Friday morning erupted into gunfire, chaos and ultimately bloodshed in Mariners Harbor when a suspect grabbed a gun and set off a smoke bomb in his apartment as authorities attempted to arrest him on a probation violation warrant, police said.
A responding firefighter was shot in the buttocks and calf, and was rushed to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.
The suspect, Garland Tyree, a reputed leader of the Bloods gang, died after exchanging gunfire with police following a six-hour standoff at his home at 15 Destiny Court.
Immigrant stabbed by Latin Kings
Sept. 7, 2005
A brawl involving knives and belts on Port Richmond Avenue ended with Leobardo Rojas, a 22-year-old man who had immigrated to Staten Island from Mexico, fatally stabbed six times in the back and neck.
As they responded to the scene, police said they saw several of the suspects on top of Rojas, beating him.
One or more of the young people charged were believed to have ties to the Latin Kings, sources said at the time.