Two new federal indictments, one against the Bailey Boys and one against the LRGP Crew, up the ante in the government's ongoing prosecution of the East Side gangs.
The new charges include allegations that Bailey Boys members Rayshod Washington and Raymel Weeder killed Fred Rozier in February of last year.
The new indictment also charges Bailey Boys member Tyriq Brown, 20, with the shooting and wounding of a rival gang member in July 2011 on Kensington Avenue, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce said.
The new charges mean the Bailey Boys stand accused of three murders and six shootings, including a shooting during a neighborhood party with children present.
So far, two gang members have been convicted.
“Today's developments add to the over 140 gang members we've charged to date, individuals responsible for numerous murders, attempted murders and other acts of violence in our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said in a statement.
The Bailey Boys operate in a neighborhood bounded by Winspear Avenue, the Kensington Expressway, Eggert Road and Main Street.
A separate indictment involving the LRGP Crew charges three new gang members and associates with racketeering, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to murder rival gang members. The indictment also means that 10 previously charged defendants will face new charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCabe said gang members also conspired in the murder of a rival gang member, Amir Chambers, who was fatally shot in April 2011.
“Our gang investigations continue to clear cold-case homicides that may not have been solved otherwise,” Christopher M. Piehota, special agent in charge of the Buffalo FBI Office, said in a statement. “Not only do we arrest gang members, but we can provide the victims' family members with some amount of closure.”
Both indictments are the work of the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force.
email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com