A 23-year-old Jersey City man has been sentenced to federal prison for stabbing a rival gang member during a retaliatory gang-related assault.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, District Judge Kevin McNulty sentenced Sheldon Mays, aka “Thottie,” yesterday in Newark federal court to 90 months of incarceration.
Mays had previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon – a knife – in aid of racketeering.
The stabbing of the rival gang member took place on Aug. 3, 2020. Mays and seven others, all of whom are associated with a street gang operating in and around the Curries Woods Public Housing Complex in Greenville – identified as “Curries Woods” or the “Tay Tay Shrimp Gang” or the “Sharks” – allegedly did so in retaliation for a prior gang-related assault.
At the time of the assault, the victim was walking down a Jersey City street when Mays and the others approached in two cars. They parked in the middle of the street, and proceeded to punch and kick him. During the assault, Mays stabbed him, inflicting life-threatening injuries.
Four other gang members pleaded guilty in the case last August.
In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Mays to three years of supervised release.
The extent of crime in Jersey City is difficult to assess. Without explanation, the Fulop administration stopped publishing monthly CompStat crime data in June of 2019.
New York City and Newark residents have access to crime data, including shootings, from weekly or monthly CompStat reports posted on their respective websites.