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Reporting with the AP |
The suspect in a drive-by shooting outside the home of U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin is among 18 alleged gang members indicted for a series of crimes on Long Island that also include a murder, armed robberies and the theft of seven French bulldogs, Suffolk County officials announced Monday.
The 148-count indictment targeted alleged members of the “No Fake Love,” or “NFL” gang, believed responsible for 31 crimes dating to October 2021, according to law enforcement authorities. They’re a regional gang based in the Shirley-Mastic area, said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“They branded themselves as ‘Everybody killers,’ which means they were willing to kill any body and everybody who disrespected them or stood in their way,” said Tierney in a press conference on Monday.
Among the crimes the gang allegedly committed was the December 2021 shooting death of Jorge Mauricio Sevilla Barrera, 28, outside a strip mall in Farmingville, as well as six shootings, six armed robberies, and stealing 15 vehicles and the dogs.
One of the suspects was arrested last month with the gun used in the October shooting outside Zeldin’s house, which wounded two 17-year-old boys. The former Republican candidate for governor was not home at the time but said his twin daughters were inside.
Investigators said the alleged gang members took orders from two imprisoned associates, sometimes stealing and selling cars and bulldogs to purchase guns.
The group was connected to a crime where seven French bulldogs were swiped out of a home in Shirley late July. The breed can run into the thousands of dollars.
The gang allegedly carjacked a vehicle from a Lyft driver in Wading River this past April.
All but one of the defendants, who range in age from 17 to 27, were in custody Monday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney’s office.
“This large-scale takedown utilized precision policing to target drivers of violence responsible for major crimes wreaking havoc on Suffolk County communities,” Suffolk County Police Chief Rodney Harrison said in a statement Monday.
According to SCPD, the defendants face sentences of up to 25 years to life if convicted.
Top: Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison was joined by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon on Monday to announce the arrest of the 18 members of the “No Fake Love” street gang from the Mastic-Shirley area.
