A gun-loving convict who led cops on a high-speed car chase while out on bail for a multiple shooting now faces federal charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Danari Aiken, 28, an alleged member of the street gang Mac Ballers, was indicted last week in Brooklyn federal court on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm for which he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Aiken allegedly boasted about his gang connections on social media and even posed with what appears to be a fake assault rifle in a photo taken while he was out on bail for the 2018 shootout that injured five.
In the snap, Aiken is shown flashing a gang sign as he stands with three pals, who are also clutching weapons, inside what appears to be a room outfitted to look like a bank vault, court papers allege.
During the Dec. 8, 2018, gunfight outside the Rose Lounge in Queens, Aiken allegedly aimed his Glock 19 pistol at a rival from two feet away and squeezed off multiple shots — missing his target. His foe returned fire with equal imprecision — and five bystanders were struck and injured. Aiken was on probation at the time for a 2015 firearms conviction.
He was eventually arrested for the shootout and charged with 20 counts of attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and other raps. In August 2020, he was sprung on a $125,000 bond but was back in cuffs three months later.
Aiken was in a 2009 Infiniti sedan when he allegedly blew through a stop sign in Bed-Stuy, and cops tried to pull him over. In response, he sped off.
At one point Aiken allegedly stopped — but not for long.
“The defendant began driving in reverse, nearly hitting a number of pedestrians and smashing into a sanitation truck,” the federal filing alleges. The pursuit came to an end when Aiken’s car was trapped by a traffic jam, according to the Brooklyn criminal complaint. Cops allegedly found a loaded pistol under the driver’s seat.
He was arrested and held without bail on multiple charges — including unlawful fleeing of a police officer, excessive speed and criminal possession of a firearm.
While locked up on Rikers, Aiken allegedly still couldn’t keep his nose clean. In one incident “the defendant and other gang members slashed a fellow inmate, leaving a ten-centimeter laceration on the back of his head,” the federal filing alleges. He’s also accused of assaulting a guard and stashing fentanyl in his cell.
It wasn’t immediately clear why federal prosecutors have decided to charge Aiken when he’s already facing two separate cases in state court for the same underlying crimes.
A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.
An attorney for Aiken couldn’t immediately be reached.
