Brooklyn gangsters slammed with stiff sentences for reign of terror that took the life of a 22-month boy

May 10, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced hefty prison sentences for three Hoolie gang members responsible for a brutal string of violence, including the heart-wrenching murder of 22-month-old Davell Gardner Jr. during a Bedford-Stuyvesant cookout. Photo by Rob Abruzzese

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Three members of the notorious Hoolie gang were handed severe prison sentences for their roles in several violent crimes across Brooklyn, including the tragic killing of 22-month-old Davell Gardner Jr. during a cookout in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The young victim was shot in the stomach, his life cut short before his second birthday.

Travis Scott, Dashawn Austin and Akeem Artis, identified as key players in the violent Hoolie gang, received severe sentences after a six-month jury trial before Justice Danny Chun. The gang, notorious for its base operations around Roosevelt Housing Development, has haunted Brooklyn with its deadly conflicts, leading to three murders and six shootings that left survivors wounded.

In a chilling 2020 incident, gunman Austin, riding shotgun in an Audi, coldly opened fire at a park gathering, killing baby Davell and wounding three others. The ruthless drive-by showed the gang’s brutal methods of asserting dominance and retaliating against rivals. Austin received 50 years to life, and Artis was handed a 40-year sentence.

The wave of violence continued with Austin and cohort Jayquan Lane, who followed and fatally shot gang rival Janile Whitted in 2020 after a confrontation at the Kinanm Lounge on Atlantic Avenue. Lane awaits his sentencing next month.

In another brutal 2018 attack, Scott executed Tyree Walker, a 35-year-old man, and paralyzed another in a night of terror. He now faces 40 years behind bars, a grim end to his life of crime.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez praised the convictions as a clear message against gun violence.

“Today’s lengthy sentences must send a message to those engaged in gun violence that it will not be tolerated in Brooklyn,” Gonzalez said. “Senseless gang rivalries perpetrated by these defendants left six people injured and three people dead, including Davell Gardner Jr., who was shot in the abdomen.

“Little Davell never got to celebrate his second birthday,” Gonzalez continued. “My heart breaks for his mother and father and all the families and victims affected by such devastating gun violence. I commend my prosecutors and the NYPD for their determination to bring these defendants to justice.”