Brooklyn DA Busts 14 in Alleged Public-Housing Drug and Gun Ring

CITY LINE, BROOKLYN — A joint city and federal investigation into an alleged drug and gun ring based out of East New York's Cypress Hills Houses has resulted a litany of charges against 14 supposed gang members.

Investigators said Tuesday that it took the FBI, the NYPD and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn six months to gather the necessary evidence.

Law enforcement used wiretaps to track two gangs allegedly operating out of the same housing complex and working as allies: the Black Side crew and Team Side crew.

The crews may be connected to the larger Crips gang organization, according to Robert Capers, the U.S. Attorney for Brooklyn.

As a result of the alleged crime rings, Cypress Hills residents were "besieged in recent years by gang and drug-related violence, including numerous homicides and a significant number of non-fatal shootings," prosecutors said.

According to indictments released by the U.S. Department of Justice, many of those charged are accused of dealing or helping traffic cocaine. Those suspects include:

• Renee Belardo, 30, Brooklyn
• Tyriek Hankins, 29, Brooklyn
• Ronald Jackson, 37, Utica
• Anthony Keitt, 36, Brooklyn
• Dimas Perez, 38, Brooklyn
• Rafael Perez, 50, Brooklyn
• Isiah Sadler, 31, Brooklyn
• Cherena Swain, 29, Brooklyn
• Michael Vailes, 29, Brooklyn
• James Young, 31, Brooklyn

Over five months, the gangs distributed 280 grams of crack cocaine around the Cypress Hills Houses and to buyers in upstate New York, according to Capers.

In a grim example of how drug-running works in practice, Brooklyn resident Guillermina Escobar, 26, is accused of smuggling 90 grams of crack cocaine to Utica, NY — in her vagina.

At the direction of Ronald Jackson, the drugs were wrapped multiple times, sprayed with cologne and doused with pepper in order to avoid detection, prosecutors said.

Another defendant, Brooklyn resident Darnell Clinkscale, 28, allegedly sold illegal guns on multiple occasions — including a 9-millimeter Luger caliber Ruger semi-automatic pistol and a Kahr Arms semi-automatic pistol.

Yet another defendant, Jason Soto, 27, from Brooklyn, is accused of selling both guns and cocaine.

Isiah Sadler is also accused of leading a fraudulent credit-card scheme — revealed when law enforcement intercepted a Georgia-bound Fed-Ex package he allegedly mailed, containing 1,300 fake cards.

Sadler was charging $3 for regular credit cards, the indictments said, and $7 for those with a computer chip.

Multiple defendants are being represented by the Legal Aide Society. Lawyers with the organization could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

According to Capers, defendants Hankins, Sadler, Keitt, Vailes, Perez and Jackson could face life in prison.

The Cypress Hills Houses are patrolled by the NYPD's 75th Precinct. According to official police records, in the first six months of the year, major crimes in the 75th were collectively down 2.4 percent compared to the same time period last year.

A total of 10 murders were reported in the precinct through May 29, compared to 12 during the same period last year, while 18 shootings had claimed 21 victims — compared to 29 shootings and 32 victims last year.

Top photo by Giacomo Barbaro