NEWARK, N.J. - Four members and associates of a neighborhood street gang in Hudson County, New Jersey, admitted their respective roles in a gang-related stabbing, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Jermaine Jennings, aka “Maine" and “Drill," 21, Divine Abraham, aka “Dee," 22, Jamil Bowens, 21, and Jaylen Boone, 22, all of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court via video conference to separate informations charging each of them with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Aug. 3, 2020, Jennings, Abraham, Bowens, Boone, and four others, all of whom are associated with a street gang operating in and around the Curries Woods Public Housing Complex in Jersey City - identified as “Curries Woods" or the “Tay Tay Shrimp Gang" or the “Sharks" - assaulted a rival gang member in retaliation for a prior gang-related assault. As the victim was walking down a street in Jersey City, Jennings, Abraham, Bowens, Boone, and the others approached in two cars, parked in the middle of the street, and violently assaulted the victim, who was punched, kicked, and stabbed and suffered life-threatening injuries.
The count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering activity is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is currently scheduled as follows: Jennings, Jan. 4, 2023; Abraham and Bowens, Jan. 6, 2023; and Boone, Jan. 10, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Matthews; the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; and the Hudson County Department of Corrections with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.