Three men from Brooklyn were indicted in federal court on Friday and charged with various crimes including attempted murder after an attack left an unintended target with a gunshot wound.
Dajahn McBean, a 24-year-old also known as “Jeezy Mula”; Semaj Smith, a 26-year-old known as “Bam” and “Real Ryte Sport”; and Mark Waiters, a 23-year-old known as “Telly,” were charged with conspiring to commit murder in aid of their racketeering enterprise, attempted murder and assault in aid of racketeering, and using a firearm in furtherance of the attempted murder and assault.
Prosecutors claim that the crimes are related to a gang war between a group called Breadgang and another called Real Ryte.
“The Real Rytes allegedly engaged in extreme acts of violence that threatened the safety of our community and, in one instance, resulted in serious injury to a bystander,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme. “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to work hard to address the problem of gun violence in our neighborhoods, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law gang members who endeavor to use our streets as battlefields.”
Prosecutors claim that the alleged gang war started between 2015 and 2017 between the two factions from Brooklyn. They claim that the three men acted in retaliation for the murder of Sean Peart, which occurred on Dec. 19, 2015.
Prosecutors alleged that on Jan 3, 2017 the three defendants found out where their target would be, in the vicinity of Essex and Hester streets in Manhattan, so Smith and Waiters went there and wound up shooting an innocent person sitting in their car, whom they mistook for their target.
If convicted of discharging a firearm, each of the three could face a minimum of 10 years to life in prison; for the murder conspiracy and attempted murder charges they face up to 10 years; and the assault in aid of racketeering charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years.
