newjerseynewsroom.com

State Attorney General Paula T. Dow Tuesday announced that charges against 18 members and associates of the violent Nine Trey Headbusters set of the Bloods street gang.

The charges stemmed from an investigation launched by the state Department of Corrections in April of 2007 into the in-prison activities of Michael Anderson, 37. Anderson is incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton after being convicted of death by auto and eluding.

In October 2007, the State Police Street Gang North Unit and the Division of Criminal Justice started working with the Department of Corrections to look into the criminal activities of Anderson and the Nine Trey Headbusters. The investigation was dubbed "Operation Hard Hat."

Anderson has been identified as holding the status of "Godfather," which is the highest ranking position in the gang. Anderson directed and supervised external gang activities from inside the prison. The State Police street gang unit determined that he controlled the distribution of narcotics, and dictated promotions and punishments of members who went against his rule. He also demanded that money be collected from members to keep his prison phone account active.

"We will continue to utilize intelligence-led policing methods, including the monitoring of inmates, to aggressively investigate and prosecute members of violent street gangs in New Jersey," Dow said. "We partnered with numerous law enforcement agencies in order to cast a wide net over these targets today."

"Are the gang members among our inmate population a significant concern?,'' said Corrections Commissioner Gary M. Langan. "Yes. Are they running the prisons? Absolutely not. This investigation is the latest example of how a variety of law enforcement agencies are able to work together to curb illegal gang activities and ultimately make New Jersey a safer place. We are particularly proud of the fine work of our Special Investigations Division, which gathered the information that launched this investigation."

During the investigation into Anderson, several spin off investigations were initiated.

In one case the detectives learned of a planned robbery. More intelligence enabled troopers and the Jersey City police to prevent an armed robbery by 9-3 Headbuster members Darryl Gilbert, Terriek Hammonds, and Teisha Boundurant. They were stopped in a stolen motor vehicle and found to be in possession of a sawed-off, double barrel shotgun, and a black face-mask.

Additional information was obtained regarding the murder of Devon Thompson in New Brunswick. The gang members Syree Hakins, 37 and Davon Parker, 22 were indicted for the killing. The Attorney General's office will be prosecuting the case as part of "Operation Hardhat."

In 2006 a State Police street gang investigation dubbed "Operation Nine Connect" significantly disrupted the operations of the Nine Trey set causing them to split into three smaller, more fractured sets: the 793 set, the 93rd Hillside Killer Beehive set, and the 9-3 Headbusters set.

Anderson and the 18 other people are accused of a range of charges, including racketeering, promoting organized stree crime, drug distribution, conspiracy, possession of drugs within 1,000 feet of a school or park, robbery and assault.

Charged are state prison inmates Lawrence Smith, Syree Hakins, Xavier Benetiz, Terrell Williams, Quahaeen Johnson, Terriek Hammonds and Davon Parker. Charged with them are Anthony Anderson of Newark, Christopher Anderson of Newark, Teisha Boundurant of Newark, Karin Smith of Jersey City, Dorean Wheeler of Jersey City, Ronal Brown of Jersey City, Ashley Jo Cupparo of Camden, Larry Garretson of Newark, Darryl Gilbert of East Orange, and Larry Johnson of Jersey City

"The members of the Nine Trey set of the Bloods are in relative disarray. Every time a new set rises to fill the power vacuum, it becomes the target for cooperative law enforcement efforts such as this operation." State Police Major Matt Wilson, commander of the Intelligence Unit, said.

"For the second time this month, we are using New Jersey's new anti-gang laws to charge the leaders of a violent set of the Bloods with the crime of promoting organized street crime," said Criminal Justice Director stephen J. Taylor. "That first-degree charge carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years in state prison. We will use every legal tool we have in order to fight the street gangs that are bringing drugs, guns and violence into our communities."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM