🔫 The Gutter Report: Inside Brooklyn’s Massive Folk Nation Takedown — 22 Alleged Members, 26 Shootings And A Three-Year Trail Of Violence
Prosecutors allege a network of Folk Nation members and associates turned retaliatory street conflicts into a violent conspiracy spanning Brooklyn and Manhattan, leaving one person dead, innocent bystanders wounded, and six teenagers shot outside a Sweet 16 party
⚖️ One Of Brooklyn’s Largest Gang Cases In Recent Memory
Brooklyn, New York — Brooklyn prosecutors have announced what officials describe as one of the largest gang prosecutions undertaken by the District Attorney’s Office, charging 22 alleged members and associates of Folk Nation in a sweeping 176-count indictment.
Authorities say the indictment includes allegations involving:
26 separate shootings
33 criminal acts
One homicide
Twelve non-fatal shootings
Twenty-three people victimized
Multiple innocent bystanders injured
Conduct spanning approximately October 2022 through December 2025
The defendants are variously charged with conspiracy to commit murder, weapons possession, murder, attempted murder, reckless endangerment and related offenses.
Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
🎥 Surveillance footage released by prosecutors allegedly shows an armed individual entering a Brooklyn smoke shop during one of the shooting incidents connected to the sweeping Folk Nation conspiracy case.
🧩 The Alleged Alliance: Renegade Goons And The OOs
According to prosecutors, the case centers on two alleged Folk Nation subsets:
Renegade Goons (RG)
OOs, pronounced “Double Ohs”
Authorities allege the groups operated primarily in:
Flatbush
East Flatbush
Crown Heights
Ebbets Field Houses
Newkirk Avenue
Flatbush Gardens, formerly known as Vanderveer
Investigators claim the groups maintained an alliance that was reinforced through social media activity and retaliatory violence.
Prosecutors specifically allege that the conflicts intensified following the deaths of alleged Folk members Jamel “Melly Gzs” Nicholson and Lawrence “Lo Bandz” Augustin.
That allegation is important because prosecutors are arguing this wasn’t a series of disconnected shootings. They are alleging an organized pattern of retaliation, alliances and ongoing conflicts.
🕯️ The Homicide At The Center Of The Case
One of the most serious allegations involves the killing of 28-year-old Daequan Buckley.
According to prosecutors, on April 27, 2024, defendant Shamear Webster and another individual allegedly traveled near Utica Avenue and Church Avenue and waited outside a barbershop where Buckley was inside.
Authorities say that when Buckley exited and walked toward his vehicle, Webster allegedly approached and fired five shots.
Buckley was transported to Brookdale Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
That homicide now serves as one of the most serious allegations inside the broader conspiracy case.
🎂 Sweet 16 Party Turns Into A Crime Scene
Perhaps the most shocking allegation involves a Sweet 16 celebration.
Prosecutors allege that on December 14, 2025, defendants Deremous Wilder and Gabriel Rhoden traveled to Atlantic Avenue in East New York and opened fire on individuals gathered outside a Sweet 16 party.
Authorities say six teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 were struck.
All six survived.
The incident immediately became one of the most disturbing allegations in the indictment because it allegedly transformed a birthday celebration into a mass-casualty shooting involving children.
🚇 From Courtrooms To The Streets
The indictment also describes violence allegedly spilling into and around Brooklyn Supreme Court.
According to prosecutors, several alleged Folk members traveled to Downtown Brooklyn on July 15, 2024.
Authorities say defendant Tukoy Gillespie was allegedly stabbed by a rival gang member inside an elevator at 320 Jay Street.
Prosecutors allege another rival later exited court proceedings and entered an Uber.
Authorities say members of the alleged conspiracy followed the vehicle and, when it stopped at a traffic light, defendant Anthony Saunders allegedly fired through the rear window.
The alleged target survived but suffered injuries from shattered glass.
The allegation illustrates how prosecutors believe the violence followed rivals virtually everywhere — including courthouses.
🚨 Innocent Bystanders Allegedly Caught In The Crossfire
According to prosecutors, innocent people suffered injuries during several of the alleged shootings.
In one incident, authorities say members of the conspiracy fired toward rivals near a vigil.
A 59-year-old woman was reportedly struck in the head by a ricocheted bullet.
In another shooting near Church Avenue and Utica Avenue, prosecutors say a 39-year-old woman was struck in the thigh.
Neither woman was alleged to have been involved in the conflicts.
Those allegations underscore one of the central realities of gang violence: the people paying the price are often not the intended targets.
🔫 An array of seized firearms is displayed as investigators announce a 176-count indictment alleging that 22 defendants were connected to 26 shootings across Brooklyn and Manhattan.
🏙️ The Rivalries Prosecutors Say Fueled The Violence
Authorities say the alleged Folk alliance had ongoing conflicts involving several other street groups across Brooklyn, including:
59 Brims
Canarsie WOO
Brownsville WOOO
8-Trey Crips
Grape Street Crips
Insane Crip Gangsters
Additional Bloods and Crips subsets
The indictment does not accuse all members of those organizations of criminal conduct.
Rather, prosecutors say the rivalries help explain the motive structure behind many of the alleged retaliatory shootings.
📱 The Social Media Angle
One of the most significant aspects of modern gang prosecutions is how social media is increasingly becoming evidence.
Authorities say the alleged alliance between RG and the OOs was reinforced online.
Investigators now routinely use:
Instagram posts
Music videos
Photos
Messages
Geolocation evidence
Surveillance footage
Digital communications
Prosecutors increasingly argue that social media can provide insight into alleged relationships, motives, rivalries and retaliatory intentions.
This case appears to be another example of investigators using both traditional detective work and digital evidence to build a broader conspiracy narrative.
👥 The Defendants
The defendants named by prosecutors are:
Nathon Bess, 22
Roberto Brown, 17
Justice Cummins, 22
Jaron Dennis, 18
Akim Diahka, 18
Armani Garraway, 20
Tukoy Gillespie, 22
Lashajuan Glasgow, 22
Bryce Gonzales, 25
Zakai Greene, 21
Jacob Lubin, 26
Ronaldinho Mareus, 18
Gabriel Modeste, 21
Kareem Moore, 17
Mark Ottey, 20
Gabriel Rhoden, 17
Anthony Saunders, 18
Kemar Saunders, 20
Phillip Simon, 19
Winston Simon, 22
Shamear Webster, 21
Deremous Wilder, 17
🏛️ Governor Kathy Hochul and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez address the public during a press conference announcing what officials describe as one of Brooklyn’s largest gang prosecutions in recent memory.
⚠️ The Bigger Picture
The numbers alone are staggering.
Twenty-two defendants.
A 176-count indictment.
Twenty-six shootings.
One homicide.
Six teenagers wounded outside a birthday party.
And innocent bystanders allegedly struck by gunfire.
Perhaps the most troubling part of the indictment is the age of many of the defendants. Several are teenagers, and most are in their late teens or early twenties.
Regardless of how the criminal cases ultimately end, the indictment paints a picture of young men allegedly trapped in cycles of retaliation that prosecutors say left entire neighborhoods living with the consequences.
Now, one of Brooklyn’s biggest gang prosecutions in years will attempt to answer whether the violence was truly the work of a coordinated conspiracy or whether prosecutors have overreached in connecting years of bloodshed into one case.
Either way, one person is dead, dozens of lives have been forever changed, and another generation of young New Yorkers now finds itself at the center of a case that could reshape entire neighborhoods for years to come.
Not for clicks — for clarity.
— Elliott Carterr, LFTG Radio
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