Seven members of Bounty Hunter Bloods gang indicted for racketeering conspiracy
NEW JERSEY – Seven members of a New Jersey gang associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods were charged by indictment Tuesday with racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) conspiracy, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
The Indictment charges Walter Boyd, a/k/a “Walt,” a/k/a “Walt Daddy,” 34, Isiah Daniels, a/k/a “Ice,” 33, Joel Lyons, a/k/a “Jayski,” 21, Gede Maccelus, a/k/a “G Baby,” 21, Armando Ortiz, a/k/a “Mando,” 24, Malik Stringer, a/k/a “Rambo,” 24, and Kimani Wanyoike, a/k/a “Ki,” 21, all of Somerset and Middlesex County with a racketeering conspiracy that included multiple murders, fraud schemes, and narcotics distribution, Sellinger said.
Daniels and Wanyoike are in federal custody on previously filed related federal charges. Lyons and Ortiz are currently serving terms of imprisonment in state prison. Boyd, Maccelus, and Stringer are currently in state custody on pending state charges related to the charges filed Tuesday. All defendants’ will have initial appearances to be scheduled, Sellinger said.
The charges are the result of a long-running investigation, coordinated between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Brunswick Police Department, and the Franklin Township Police Department.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Boyd, Daniels, Lyons, Maccelus, Ortiz, Stringer, and Wanyoike, each were allegedly members and associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, who operated under the umbrella of the neighborhood street gangs known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in New Brunswick.
Gang members, including the defendants, are alleged to have also engaged in numerous violent acts on behalf of and for the benefit of the gang, including assaults, shootings, and murders, some of which targeted rival gang members, including the following:
• On or about June 12, 2020, Daniels, along with other gang members drove at least two cars to a gathering to pay homage to a purported rival gang member who had passed away. At the gathering, members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods gang got out of their cars and shot into a vehicle in the area of Churchill Avenue in Franklin Township;
• On or about August 1, 2020, Maccelus, Wanyoike, and other gang members, at Ortiz’s direction, drove to the area of the Hope Manor housing complex in the “Down Bottom” area of New Brunswick in a stolen vehicle. Upon arriving, Wanyoike and another gang member exited the vehicle and shot Victim 1, a purported gang rival, as well as Victims 2 and 3;
• On or about September 13, 2020, Lyons, Daniels, and other gang members used a stolen car to commit a shooting in New Brunswick that caused the deaths of Victim 4, a purported gang rival, and Victim 5, and resulting in injuries to Victims 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12;
• On or about July 19, 2021, Wanyoike possessed a firearm that had been used in a shooting on or about April 30, 2021, in North Brunswick, New Jersey where at least seven rounds of .40 caliber ammunition were discharged from a red Hyundai motor vehicle as it chased at Victim 13, a purported rival of the Bounty Hunter Bloods Enterprise;
• On or about June 18, 2021, Boyd and other gang members gathered outside a hospital in New Brunswick to support and pay homage to a high-ranking member of the Bounty Hunter Bloods gang, who had been shot by purported rivals hours prior. Upon seeing a white Jeep they concluded was occupied by rivals, Boyd and two other gang members followed the Jeep to the area of Easton Avenue in New Brunswick. After stopping, one of the gang members shot into the Jeep, killing Victim 14 and causing injury to Victim 15;
• On or about July 24, 2021, Stringer, while gathered with other gang members, possessed a firearm and attempted to fire it at a purported rival gang member in New Brunswick;
• On or about January 9, 2022, Stringer, while with another gang member in New Brunswick, got into a confrontation regarding narcotics distribution with purported rival gang members and shot at them, killing Victim 16 and causing injury to Victim 17; and
• On or about January 20, 2022, Maccelus, while with another gang member in Franklin Township, possessed a loaded firearm that had been used in a shooting in New Brunswick that same day.
In addition to these violent acts, Bounty Hunter Bloods members, including the defendants, are alleged to have routinely distributed narcotics in and around the gang’s turf in both New Brunswick and Somerset. Gang members also engaged in various wire and bank fraud schemes to enrich themselves and fellow members of the gang, including schemes to defraud the federal Paycheck Protection Program, Sellinger said.
Boyd, Daniels, Lyons, and Stringer each face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the racketeering conspiracy, while Maccelus, Ortiz, and Wanyoike each face a maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment. All defendants face a maximum fine of $250,000, Sellinger said.