Notorious Harlem Crew Busted For Selling Guns, Fentanyl-Laced Oxy: DA
Five members of the "3Staccs crew" were indicted Wednesday for selling guns and drugs out of the Grant Houses in Harlem, the DA said.
Gus Saltonstall,
Posted Wed, Mar 8, 2023 at 4:42 pm ET
HARLEM, NY — Members of a notorious Harlem accused of selling guns and Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl out of a NYCHA development in the neighborhood were indicted on Wednesday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced.
Five members of the "3Staccs" crew, which operated out of the Grant Houses from 123rd to 125th streets on La Salle Street, were indicted and charged on varying levels with criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a firearm, conspiracy, and more, the DA said.
“As alleged, these defendants helped fuel the fentanyl crisis engulfing our city and brought dangerous firearms into our communities,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news release. “Furthermore, all of the conduct in this indictment was occurring right where thousands of Manhattanites call home.
"Public housing residents deserve the same safety and security as everyone else, and we will crackdown on anyone who uses these complexes as a base for dangerous criminal activity," he added.
The District Attorney's investigation into the crew began "in response to local complaints" about drug trafficking and violent crime in the Harlem neighborhood.
From June 7, 2022, to Jan. 30, 2022, the five defendants sold automatic pistols, rifles, and counterfeit Oxycodone pills a dozen times to undercover detectives, according to the DA's office.
In total, the five defendants sold more than 900 counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, according to the DA.
In 2016, police raided the Grant Houses and neighboring Manhattanville Houses, where they arrested 103 men on conspiracy charges — making it one of the largest roundups of people related to gangs in New York City history, The New York Times reported.
Members of 3Staccs were also at the center of that raid, the New York Times added.
Below are the charges announced Wednesday by the DA:
Javon Carter
New York, New York
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony, three counts
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, nine counts
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, four counts
Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, one count
Bryant Diaz
New York, New York
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, one count
Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, one count
Yadiells Guzman
New York, New York
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony, one count
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, two counts
Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, one count
Javon Peterson
New York, New York
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, one count
MALIK PHILLIPS Malik Phillips
New York, New York
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, one count