NEW YORK—Two rival street gangs, who have allegedly caused violence and shootings in East New York during a gang war over the last three years, have had 49 members indicted, Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes announced Wednesday.
The gang members, from the Rockstarz and the VCG/Weez Gang (Very Crispy Gangsters), were charged with offenses ranging from conspiracy in the third degree (for those under 18 years old) to murder in the second degree, with bail upward of $100,000, or no bail at all.
“Detectives used social media as well as good old fashioned police work to track these killers,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
Gang members would “friend” targets from the opposing gang on Facebook, post threats, and post photos of rivals they planned to kill next, according to the indictment.
“They also used social media to intimidate informants,” Kelly said.
Members of both gangs also posted photos of restraining orders filed against them from witnesses that planned to testify against them, calling them “snitches” and sharing the information between the two gangs.
Gang leaders also threatened their own members if they were seen or heard to be cooperating with the authorities, Kelly said.
“We conducted the takedown for two weeks,” said Deanna Rodriguez, chief of the Gang Bureau at the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. “We had an attack plan and these officers here went out and executed that attack plan, and thanks to that, their hard work, we only have eight outstanding members, four for each gang, that we’re still looking for.”
The rivalry started in 2009, when one of VCG’s gang members was killed by a Rockstarz member, but the violence has injured and killed innocent bystanders as well. The gang members indicted range from age 16 to 23.
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