Queens gang takedown: Exclusive
Eleven people have been arrested and are facing a total of 57 charges including attempted murder and gun possession. Prosecutors say they tried to kill rival gang members are part of an ongoing turf-war leading to unnecessary violence in their communities. FOX 5 NY’s Lisa Evers had a front row seat to this case.
QUEENS – In a dramatic gang takedown you’ll only see on FOX 5 NY, the New York City Police Department arrested multiple gang members accused of terrorizing a southeastern Queens community with reckless drive-by shootings and running gun battles in residential neighborhoods.
JUMP TO: OPERATION DEADLIEST CATCH l INSIDE THE GANG
FOX 5 NY’s Lisa Evers was embedded with the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division and supporting units as they arrested 11 people who are now facing a total of 57 charges, including attempted murder and gun possession.
Prosecutors said those indicted were alleged members of “Whole Blocc Boys” and “Score On Anything” – two subsets of the “8 Trey Movin Crips.” This includes 33-year-old alleged gang leader Alphati “Havoc” Tani, who is accused of teaching teens as young as 14 how to pull the trigger.
Also indicted were two aspiring drill rappers – Mir EBK and Savv G – accused of trying to kill rival gang members as part of an ongoing turf war, leading to unnecessary violence in their communities.
The NYPD took months of investigations and thousands of hours to implement Operation Deadliest Catch, with the goal of getting the “worst of the worst” off city streets.
Before executing the mission, Lisa Evers was asked to put on a bulletproof vest because many of the perps were wanted for violent gun offenses.
“Their recklessness. The fact that they’ll go out there and shoot up a house. They’ll shoot up a bus,” said Deputy Inspector Craig Edelman with the Detective Bureau Gun Violence Suppression Division.
At the undisclosed location, the police get their assignments, which will take them to various locations in Queens.
Since the start of the Gun Violence Suppression Division in 2021, police told FOX 5 NY they’ve seen double-digit declines in both the number of shooting incidents and number of victims in New York City.
“They don’t care who’s around. We know bullets have no names, and they have no regard for human life,” Edelman said.
Officers then took Lisa from the Grand Central Parkway to a home in southeastern Queens, where units surrounded a yard to make sure the suspect would not escape.
They then travel to the 111 Precinct, where the alleged gang members were booked on serious felony charges. There, Lisa confronts Alphati “Havoc” Tani.
“Police say that you gave young teenagers guns. Is that true,” she asked.
Tani kept his head down, ignoring the cameras.
The 11 alleged “8 Trey Movin Crips” gang members face a litany of charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
The charges stem from nine shooting incidents which occurred from March 2021 through December 2022. Captain Ryan Gillis of the Detective Bureau Gun Violence Suppression Divisions said Tani is accused of orchestrating many of those hits.
“You have a 33-year-old individual who’s essentially orchestrating these shootings, recruiting younger individuals, impressionable individuals. What is he doing? Putting guns in their hands and telling them where to shoot and who to shoot,” Assistant NYPD Chief Jason Savino told Lisa.
Two of those indicted are aspiring drill rappers: Amir Harris, who goes by Mir EBK (which stands for “everybody’s killer”), and his rapping partner Seth Johnson, who goes by Savv G.
While many drill rappers are successful artists and not involved in crime, some are violent and use their lyrics to inflame their rivals, called “opps,” explained Gillis.
“The drill rap connection always seems to be a common theme in these investigations. Some people have more clout and more noteworthiness than others. But there’s always a few members of the crew who take pride in antagonizing other opposition gangs,” Gillis said.
In one instance caught on camera, alleged gang members are seen pulling up to a house and opening fire – an entire family was sleeping inside.
“Two cars, four guns, riddled that house with bullets, with children sleeping inside. Think about that for a second. Those four guns come back to an additional 17 shootings,” Savino told officers before the takedown.
Police told FOX 5 NY that they are not after gangs themselves, but the small percentage of gang members who are shooters. If the defendants in this case are found guilty, they are looking anywhere from three to 25 years to life behind bars.
