Four members and associates of a Jersey City street gang have admitted to their participation in a gang-related stabbing.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Jermaine Jennings, aka “Maine” and “Drill,” 21, Divine Abraham, aka “Dee,” 22, Jamil Bowens, 21, and Jaylen Boone, 22, all of Jersey City have pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court.
Each of them had been charged with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering.
Documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on Aug. 3, 2020 indicate that 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, 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, January 4, 2023; Abraham and Bowens, January 6, 2023; and Boone, January 10, 2023.
Sellinger credited the special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division; the Jersey City Police Department; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office; 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. 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.