Two dozen members of a street gang affiliated with the notorious Trinitarios were charged Tuesday in sweeping federal and state indictments — including in connection to a string of high-end robberies at Big Apple hotspots last year.
“Own Every Dollar” or “OED is suspected of being behind a number of stick-ups that saw millions in pricey watches and jewelry snatched from patrons at trendy eateries and bars, including one at Philippe Chow on the Upper East Side in September 2021.
Sixteen members and associates of the gang were hit with federal charges including murder, attempted murder, racketeering and drug trafficking. Manhattan prosecutors also unsealed a 90-count indictment against 10 alleged gang members, two of whom were also charged by the feds.
Two Trinitarios gang members pose for the camera in the courtroom on Oct. 11, 2019, as they await their sentencing for the murder of 15-year-old Guzman-Feliz. NY Post
Frederick Then, one of the gang members charged for the murder of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, sits in the Bronx County Hall of Justice on Oct. 22, 2019. Anthony DelMundo“For the past four years, OED has wreaked havoc in this city,” US Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference.
The 16, who include some of the gang’s leaders, allegedly killed five people, attempted to murder another 12, pulled off a number of armed robberies and pushed drugs, including fentanyl, the feds said.
The violent crew, which controls turf in Washington Heights, as well as pockets of the Bronx and Queens, operates as a subset of the Trinitarios, the bloodthirsty Dominican gang founded on Rikers Island in the early 1990s. OED is “highly structured” and members have to recite loyalty oaths and adhere to rules that can only be changed by a vote, law enforcement authorities said.
In one of the high-profile robberies, a pair of armed OED members allegedly targeted two people eating at Philippe Chow, demanding their jewelry while holding guns at them, according to the state indictment filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
One of the suspects, Justin Deaza, ended up shooting one of the victims in the leg, prosecutors alleged. The Sept. 15, 2021 shooting sent a group of horrified diners fleeing from the upscale Chinese eatery, The Post reported at the time.
A member of the Trinitarios takes part in a shootout. NYPD
Surveillance image of a gang member during a midday shootout. NYPD
Surveillance video of a suspected Trinitarios member. NYPD
A suspected Trinitarios gang member pulls out a firearm. NYPDAbout a week prior, Deaza allegedly stuck a gun in a victim’s face on East 16th Street in the East Village and stole his Rolex watch, the indictment states.
In yet another stick-up, Deaza and another co-conspirator approached a victim on East 30th Street near Broadway on Aug. 14 and stuck a pistol to the back of their head and robbed him of expensive jewelry, court papers state.
They snatched a Cuban diamond chain, three tennis necklaces, three medallions, two crosses with diamonds, a large diamond crucifix pendant, eight bracelets and a replica Richard Mille watch, according to the charging documents.
Deaza and two other suspects allegedly struck again on Aug. 19 in the heart of Manhattan, robbing a victim outside of the Pergola nightclub near Broadway and West 28th Street. The trio escaped with a watch and a gold necklace in the heist, according to the indictment.
NYPD Keechant Sewell announcing the indictment of 16 members of a subset of the Trinitarios gang on August 2, 2022. Steven Hirsch
At least 14 different firearms that were acquired and used by OED. SDNY
A firearm and ammunition taken from the OED. SDNYAt least one robbery turned fatal on Sept. 20, 2021, when two alleged OED members rushed a man outside the Opus Lounge in the Inwood section of Manhattan.
Damien Suarez and John Aslan, allegedly pounced on Jeffrey Sanchez as he walked to his parked car and Aslan shot him in the back, authorities said.
The pair then snatched Sanchez’s wristwatch and other jewelry as he lay dying on the sidewalk, according to the state charges against them.
The gang was also allegedly responsible for the April 2019 killing of a 57-year-old innocent bystander, who was caught in the crossfire as a member of OED fired at members of a rival crew on West 135th Street in Manhattan.
The Trinitarios were responsible for Guzman-Feliz’s death.
In that shooting, Jerrin Pena allegedly opened fire at a member of the Amsterdam Broadway Bullies on West 135th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, missed the rival, and instead struck Hector Cruz in the liver, according to federal court papers.
“These individuals lived by a brutal code of street violence – where firearms were recklessly pulled out and indiscriminately fired, where innocent lives were disregarded, where families and neighborhoods were traumatized and torn apart,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement Tuesday.
The case was brought by federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD, the DEA, the Manhattan DA and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Lesandro Guzman-Feliz was stabbed to death in the Bronx by the Trinitarios gang in 2018. Facebook
Guzman-Feliz was only 15 years old when he was murdered after the Trinitarios mistook him for a member of a rival gang. Richard HarbusThe Trinitarios gang drew national attention in 2018 after leaders of the Trinitarios ordered the machete slaying of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz.
Feliz was hacked to death outside of a Bronx bodega after Trinitarios members mistook for a member of a rival set.
