2 Arraigned For Deadly Gang-Related Shooting At July 4 Party: DA

MASSAPEQUA, NY — Two alleged members of the Bloods gang were indicted today on charges related to a shooting in Massapequa last July 4 that left one man dead and two injured.

Thomas Massenburg, 20, of Brooklyn, was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was remanded into custody.

Laeryk Jarvis, also known as Coop, 20, of Hempstead, was arraigned on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Bail for Jarvis was set at $70,00 bond or $35,000 cash.

If convicted of the top charges, Massenburg faces 65 years to life in prison, and Jarvis faces up to 15 years.

“A Fourth of July party on a quiet street turned violent and deadly when Thomas Massenburg senselessly shot Rashawn Cummings after a physical altercation,” said Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said. “It’s remarkable that more lives were not lost that evening and we will aggressively prosecute this case.”

According to Smith, Massenburg and other members of the Mac Baller Bloods from Brooklyn were at a Fourth of July part on West Drive in Massapequa in 2020. Jarvis and another group, also alleged Bloods members from the Hempstead area, were also at the party. Rashawn Cummings, a friend of Jarvis, came to the party later, and a fight broke out between the Hempstead and Brooklyn groups.

Smith said that Jarvis waved a gun in the air and told everyone to leave the house.

During a fight in the basement of the home around 11:15 p.m., Smith said that Massenburg got a loaded gun and shot Cummings twice — once in the leg, and once in the chest. He then shot another man three times — in the arm, leg and buttocks, Smith said. That man survived. Smith said that Jarvis then shot Massenburg in the groin.

Cummings was pronounced dead at the scene.

Massenberg was arrested about a year later, on June 3, 2021. Jarvis was arrested on June 17, 2021.