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The national leader of the notorious Bloodhound Brims street gang has been extradited to Long Island and will appear in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Thursday to face three counts of conspiracy for allegedly directing violent gang operations from behind bars in federal prison in California.
Latique “La Brim” Johnson is portrayed by Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney as a puppet master who directed criminal activity with Bloodhound Brims members on Long Island, even while locked up on federal RICO convictions stemming from his gang involvement.
Johnson, 44, originally from the Bronx, promoted and fired members of the gang based on the fulfillment of violent street activity agains rival gangs, Tierney said. The Bloodhound Brims — also known as BHB — allegedly generated revenue through criminal activity, typically through armed robberies or illicit drug sales.
The cash was allegedly distributed to high-ranking BHB members, including Johnson.
In February, the prosecutor announced a 103-count indictment charging 31 alleged Bloodhound Brims members and associates. The long-term investigation that led to the charges covered 34 felonious incidents.
Among them were conspiracy to commit murder, long-term conspiracy, 18 shootings, three armed robberies, and the recovery of 12 loaded handguns that had been used to carry out 13 shootings and armed robberies, authorities said.
In one of the shootings, elementary school teacher Kimberly Midgette was killed inside a car in a drive-by shooting in Hempstead, Tierney said. She was not the intended target.
BHB members and their associates operated throughout Long Island, though primarily in the Suffolk County communities of Bay Shore, Coram, Mastic and Riverhead, Tierney said.
The 103-count indictment
Johnson, who will be brought before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr. in Riverhead, was at the very top of a gang hierarchy that forced Bloodhound Brims members to adhere to a strict oath, commandments and rules. Johnson and 22 other defendants charged in the investigation were already jailed when Tierney announced the indictment in February.
In 2019, Johnson was sentenced in federal court to 30 years in prison after he was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, assault in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms.
