NEW YORK — Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, together with New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio, today announced that 18 alleged members of No Love City, a subset of the violent Folk Nation street gang, have been variously charged in a 76-count indictment with conspiracy to commit murder, weapons possession and other charges for multiple shootings throughout Brooklyn, including one that left a 25-year-old man dead and another that left a 60-year-old innocent woman paralyzed.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendants, whose ages range from 18 to 27 years old, are members of No Love City (NLC), a subset of Folk Nation, and operate primarily within the confines of the 63rd, 67th, 69th and 70th precincts, mostly in the vicinity of Flatbush Avenue, Newkirk Avenue and Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn. During the course of the conspiracy the defendants variously allegedly agreed to commit crimes, including murder and assault, in order to maintain their dominance over that geographic area, particularly Flatbush.
Furthermore, the defendants also allegedly directed their acts of violence toward rival gang members living in and around Canarsie, Brooklyn, including members of the Crips subsets 100 Cloccs and GS9, as well as HQ Monopoly and the 1090s, in retaliation for the murder of NLC member Malik Bhola, 17, aka, Reckless, on January 1, 2014, in Bushwick. Bhola was shot in the chest following a fight over a girl at a party he had attended. Before he was shot he sent out a call for help – noting that there were “opps” in the area, referring to opposition members of gangs from Canarsie, also known as the “Flossy” in gang parlance.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, following the murder of Bhola, members of NLC, including some of the defendants, would go “riding out” in Canarsie, by which they meant going on hunting expeditions in vehicles and shooting individuals they suspected of being 100 Cloccs or HQ Monopoly, or merely being from the “Flossy.”
During the escalating violence, it is alleged, NLC members frequently discussed their intentions and efforts to engage in additional attacks and took credit for past attacks using social media. The violent attacks on their Canarsie rivals escalated further following the October 14, 2015, murder of NLC member Richard James, aka, “Money Bags.” James was shot to death outside the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California.
It is alleged that during the conspiracy charged in the indictment, which is from September 27, 2013 until January 25, 2016, to further the criminal activities of the gang, NLC members committed various other crimes including selling prison contraband and robberies. They also communicated their intentions on social media, including Facebook, and during inmate calls made from Rikers Island, including ordering acts of retribution such as beatings and shootings of members of rival gangs. Many of the phone calls were allegedly made by or with Kwyme Waddell, aka, “K,” who is considered the “Big Homie,” or leader of NLC.
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