Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DWIGHT REID, a/k/a “Dick Wolf,” and CHRISTOPHER ERSKINE, a/k/a “Beagle,” were found guilty yesterday of racketeering and narcotics conspiracy in connection with their leadership of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Bloods Gang (“Gorilla Stone”), a brutally violent street and prison gang that operates across the country. REID, the gang’s highest-ranking member, is the gang’s founder and prison leader. ERSKINE, the gang’s street leader, also known as the “Sun,” is the gang’s second highest-ranking member. The convictions followed a nearly three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern. REID will be sentenced on May 10, 2024, and ERSKINE will be sentenced on May 13, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Dwight Reid and Christopher Erskine are the two highest-ranking members of Gorilla Stone, a ruthless gang, and are responsible for terrible violent acts and trafficking dangerous narcotics across the country and state, including throughout the New York State prison system. They now stand convicted of their crimes and will no longer be able to inflict harm on the people of our District.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court:
REID founded Gorilla Stone over 20 years ago. Gorilla Stone has many members across New York State, including throughout New York City, Westchester, Upstate New York, and the New York State Prison System, and all over the country, such as in Florida. Gorilla Stone is comprised of various sets (or “Caves,” as they are called by gang members). Gorilla Stone is a highly organized and efficient street gang with an organizational commitment to violence that strictly enforces its internal laws.
Among Gorilla Stone’s acts of violence are:
- A September 2020 broad daylight murder of a minor on a busy Poughkeepsie street;
- An October 24, 2020, gang-related shooting outside of a Miami, Florida, strip club, in which two rival gang members were shot and seriously wounded, requiring one to be airlifted from the scene;
- Multiple shootings and attempted murders, including an August 8, 2018, shooting in Brooklyn, New York; July 5, 2020, gang shootings at a house party in Miami, Florida; and a July 20, 2020, drive-by shooting in New Rochelle, New York;
- A June 12, 2020, gunpoint drug-related robbery in Peekskill, New York; and
- A vicious January 12, 2018, face slashing of a rival gang member on 125th Street in Manhattan.
As for the gang’s sources of revenue, in addition to some more traditional sources such as the proceeds of nationwide narcotics trafficking both inside and outside of prisons, Gorilla Stone is deeply involved in several fraud schemes that are well organized and sophisticated and net a significant amount of money for the gang, including a fraudulent unemployment benefits scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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REID, 51, of New York, New York, and ERSKINE, 40, of Brooklyn, New York, were convicted of one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and one count of narcotics conspiracy, which also carries a maximum sentence of life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison for REID and 10 years in prison for ERSKINE. ERSKINE was also convicted of one count of narcotics distribution, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The defendants were acquitted of a gun possession offense.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
With REID and ERSKINE’s trial convictions, all 21 defendants in the Gorilla Stone case before Judge Halpern have been convicted. 13 defendants have been sentenced and eight defendants, including REID and ERSKINE, have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing. The 13 defendants who have been sentenced by Judge Halpern to date are:
- Godfather DONAVAN GILLARD, a/k/a “Donnie Love,” who was sentenced to 248 months in prison;
- Godmother NAYA AUSTIN, a/k/a “Baby,” who was sentenced to 234 months in prison;
- Godmother BRINAE THORNTON, a/k/a “Luxury,” who was sentenced to 210 months in prison;
- JARRETT CRISLER, Jr., a/k/a “Jayecee,” who was sentenced to 207 months in prison;
- CASWELL SENIOR, a/k/a “Casanova,” who was sentenced to 188 months in prison;
- Godfather BRANDON NIEVES, a/k/a “Untouchable Dot,” who was sentenced to 110 months in prison;
- JAMAL TRENT, a/k/a “Trap Smoke,” who was sentenced to nine years in prison;
- DEZON WASHINGTON, a/k/a “Blakk,” who was sentenced to 97 months in prison;
- ROBERTA SLIGH, a/k/a “Trouble,” who was sentenced to eight years in prison;
- JORDAN INGRAM, a/k/a “Flow,” who was sentenced to eight years in prison;
- STEPHEN HUGH, a/k/a “Chino,” who was sentenced to seven years in prison;
- ISAIAH SANTOS, a/k/a “Zay,” who was sentenced to seven years in prison; and
- SHANAY OUTLAW, a/k/a “Easy,” who was sentenced to three years in prison.
In addition to REID and ERSKINE, who are awaiting sentencing, six additional defendants have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing: Godfather DESHAWN THOMAS, a/k/a “Don,” Godfather WALTER LUSTER, a/k/a “Shells,” AHMED WALKER, a/k/a “Ammo,” BRANDON SOTO, a/k/a “Stacks,” NEIKO CRUDUP, a/k/a “JhitRilla,” and ROBERT WOODS, a/k/a “Blakk Rob.”
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of special agents and task force officers from the FBI, U.S. Probation, New York State Police, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Rockland District Attorney’s Office, and the New York City, Westchester County, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Greenburgh, White Plains, Peekskill, Ramapo, and Clarkstown Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, David R. Felton, Kathryn P. Wheelock, and Courtney L. Heavey, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Shannon Becker and Liam Ronan, are in charge of the prosecution.
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