Federal charges leveled against Trinitarios gang members for violent Brooklyn crime spree

Ghost guns were used in carjacking spree

January 3, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace announced the guilty plea of a disbarred Queens attorney on Friday.Photo: Seth Wenig/AP

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace announced charges against alleged gang members who went on a carjacking spree from Nov. 2022 through Feb. 2023.
Photo: Seth Wenig/AP

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A plan to rob a marijuana dealer in Queens turned violent and has led to the indictment of four individuals, alleged to be Trinitarios gang members, who now face multiple charges related to a series of shootings and armed carjackings that took place between November 2022 and February 2023.

The Eastern District of NY’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the FBI, announced federal charges against four alleged Trinitarios gang members on Wednesday, Amaury Guzmán, a 24-year-old from Brooklyn, Ian Diez, a 19-year-old from Brooklyn, Ruffi Fernández, a 26-year-old from Staten Island, and Jonathan Rodríguez, a 22-year-old from Queens.

The indictment details the defendants’ alleged participation in a violent crime wave that terrorized the Brooklyn community. Their crimes included the related fatal shooting and carjacking of a Mercedes Benz in New Jersey. The car was later driven to Queens, where another man was tragically killed.

The indictment also recounts a non-fatal shooting of a marijuana dealer’s companion, a harrowing armed carjacking that resulted in the victim being hospitalized for head lacerations, and a close call where a driver narrowly escaped death when a bullet lodged in his vehicle’s console.

The group allegedly used a “ghost gun” in these crimes — a weapon without a serial number that is bought online and assembled at home and thus difficult to trace.

“As alleged, the defendants repeatedly and violently terrorized the community with multiple shootings and armed carjackings,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Breon Peace. “Members of our community should not have to live in fear of gun violence in their homes, on the streets or in their cars.”

The wave of terror began on Nov. 19, when Amaury Guzmán, Ruffi Fernández and their associates plotted to rob a marijuana dealer. In a violent altercation, Guzmán shot into the dealer’s car, severely injuring a passenger in the neck. The passenger later underwent extensive surgery for the bullet wound.

The gang’s reign of fear escalated the very next night, Nov. 20. Guzmán, along with others, stole a white Mercedes Benz from a residence in Carteret, New Jersey. Driving the stolen vehicle, they headed back to Queens. There, Guzmán and Jonathan Rodríguez accosted the driver of a parked BMW sports coupe. During a desperate attempt to escape, the driver was shot in the back by Rodríguez. He lost control of his vehicle, resulting in a tragic crash that claimed his life.

The crime spree continued just two days later, on Nov. 22. Guzmán, Rodríguez and their gang targeted another vehicle, a BMW X5, in Queens. They ambushed the driver at gunpoint and seized his car. In their haste to escape, the stolen vehicles collided, leading to Rodríguez’s arrest. Guzmán, however, eluded capture. Investigators recovered a 9mm ghost gun from the scene, tying the gang to the previous shootings.

As the year drew to a close, on Dec. 12, Guzmán, Fernández and Ian Diez set their sights on a Range Rover driver. Diez intimidated the driver, but as he tried to flee, Fernández fired at the car, embedding a bullet in the vehicle’s console.

The final act of this violent saga occurred on Feb. 1, 2023. Guzmán and his accomplices brutally attacked a Ford Mustang owner in Queens, striking him with their guns and hijacking his vehicle. The assault was so severe that the victim required hospital treatment.

If convicted, Guzmán and Rodríguez face potential life sentences, while Fernández could receive up to 20 years and Diez up to 15 years in prison.