Wednesday Raids Net a Dozen in Connection with 2012 Birch Court Shooting

A second day of heavy police activity in New Brunswick netted more than a dozen gang members and associates on racketeering and murder conspiracy charges.

According to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, about a dozen people allegedly associated with three separate sets of the Bloods gang were arrested Wednesday morning at their homes around New Brunswick for their involvement in an ongoing turf war that has resulted in gunfire on city streets and the death of a Birch Court man in his home last May.

Fifteen people were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering for participating in on-going gang activity.

Twelve of the defendants also were charged on Wednesday with conspiring to commit murder in the death of bystander Richard Chang, 40, who was killed by a stray bullet that came through the wall of his Birch Court home on May 4, 2012.

The charged are: Chad Butler, 20; Tereak Butler, 18; Maurice Fields, 23; Sidney Williams, 22; Jamil Anthony, 25; Jashire Reid, 20; and Darnell Ricketts, Jr., 21 all of New Brunswick, and Devin Gardner, 22 of Piscataway, Dylan Freer, 27 of North Brunswick; Pedro Vickers, 24 of Edison, Taladeen Ross, 28 of Sayreville, and Jamir Hill, 20 of Camden.

Three people were arrested last November and charged with murder and murder conspiracy.

They remain in jail in lieu of bail and on Wednesday were also charged with racketeering: Nadrell McMillan, 21, of New Brunswick; Quaadir Hagood, 21, of New Brunswick and Zaire Franklin Sherman, 20, of Piscataway.

Bail for each of the accused ranges from $500,000 to $1.5 million, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

An investigation determined that the "continuing conduct" of the individuals charged amounted to racketeering conspiracy, and the filing of the charges marks the first time that statute has been used by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the release said. 

The NJ Office of the Attorney General reviewed and signed off on the charges, the release said.

The following agencies assisted with the investigation and arrests: the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office; the Edison Police Department; the Sayreville Police Department; the Piscataway Police Department; the North Brunswick Police Department; the Franklin Township Police Department; the Jamesburg Police Department; the Monroe Police Department; the South River Police Department; the Rutgers University Police Department; the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Special Operations Response Team; the Middlesex County Department of Corrections, and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department. 

New Brunswick Police Director Anthony Caputo said Wednesday's arrests marked a successful operation.

“The success of today’s police initiative in combating violent crime illustrates the effectiveness of multiple law enforcement agencies working together toward a common goal," he said, in a prepared statement

The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Jeff Temple of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3373, or Det. Ronoldy Martinez of the New Brunswick Police Department at (732) 745-5200.