Local and federal law enforcement officials converged on the City of Newburgh on Wednesday night to arrest fourteen suspects on numerous federal charges. The defendants are reportedly high-ranking leaders of the Young Gunnaz street gang.
The FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, supported by the City of Newburgh Police Department, executed several warrants that resulted in the arrests. The 14 defendants have been charged under a 10-count federal indictment with crimes including racketeering, attempted murder, illegal firearms, and narcotics.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the indictment charges several Young Gunnaz gang members and associates with various acts of violence. This includes Kashad Sampson, age 23, who goes by the nickname of “Shoca.”
Sampson is allegedly a leader of this gang who is responsible for trafficking large amounts of narcotics across the City of Newburgh and New York State. Sampson is also charged with participating in multiple assaults with a dangerous weapon in the City of Newburgh and in Poughkeepsie. The Young Gunnaz gang was also responsible for perpetrating fraud schemes to enrich members of the gang, the DOJ continued.
City of Newburgh Police Commissioner Jose A. Gomerez broke the major announcement this morning.
“When I became Commissioner, I made a promise that we would address gun violence head-on, and one of my first acts was to re-engage the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force,” Gomerez explained. “Today marks another step forward in delivering on that promise. We will not rest until every corner of our City belongs to the community, not the criminals.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll stated, “Many communities are seeing a dramatic increase in violent crime, putting people on edge. The FBI, and our law enforcement partners, are doing all we can to search out and stop these gangs from terrorizing towns in the Hudson Valley. This investigation should be viewed as a warning to others – we will hold you accountable.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declared, “Let today’s massive takedown be a warning to all gang members. The feds are watching. And you better believe we don’t quit.”
The indictment is charging the Young Gunnaz gang members with the following incidents:
- Sampson, along with Dallas Archer (age 25), John Lalanne (age 23), and Raekwon Jackson (age 22) participated in and facilitated the attempted murder of rival gang members in Poughkeepsie on August 15, 2020, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in their gang.
- Syncere Tatum (age 22), Gabriel Roman (age 23), and Christopher Tate (age 19) attempted to rob and shoot a rival drug dealer in the City of Newburgh on April 27, 2021, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the gang.
- Sampson, George Delgado (age 23), Jasiah Wooten (age 24), and Bruce Allen (age 24) shot at four rival gang members in the City of Newburgh on November 17, 2021, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the gang.
- Lalanne robbed a narcotics dealer at gunpoint and discharged his firearm in the City of Newburgh on November 10, 2020.
- Sampson, Delgado, Roman, Wooten, Allen, Tatum, Lalanne, Jackson, Bashir Mallory (age 19), Mekhi McDonald (age 19), Tate, Kristopher Burgess Cunningham (age 28), and Dejon Scott (age 27) participated in a conspiracy to distribute a substantial amount of narcotics, including crack cocaine, heroin, Oxycodone, marijuana, and Promethazine HCL mixed with Codeine from at least 2019 to the present. These defendants also allegedly possessed numerous firearms in connection with this narcotics conspiracy.
All of the defendants, with the exceptions of Wooten, Jackson, and Scott, have been taken into custody.
Gomerez extended his “sincere gratitude” to Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, for helping the City of Newburgh.
Williams praised the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, New York State Police, New Windsor Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, City of Newburgh Police Department, Town of Newburgh Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, the New York City Department of Correction, Correction Intelligence Bureau, Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the Poughkeepsie Police Department, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
The following is a list of the indictments and maximum prison sentences possible:
