Gang member ordered to kill female federal witness who followed Eric Adams' “neighborhood advice”: sentence in New York

Maliek Miller, leader of the Ninedee gang, was convicted of orchestrating the murder of a former federal witness after an altercation in a fight over illegal fireworks in Brooklyn (NYC).

Miller, 30, did not fire the bullets at Shatavia Walls, 33, on July 7, 2020, but ordered her death, jurors determined Thursday after a four-week trial in Brooklyn Federal Court.

The jury found Miller guilty of all seven charges against him, including racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering. He faces a mandatory life sentence.

The crime was also controversial because Walls allegedly followed the advice of Eric Adams, then borough president and current mayor of the city, that New Yorkers resolve disputes neighbor to neighbor instead of calling 311 or 911, in the violent summer. pandemic.

Walls, 33, had been the victim of a decade-long gang feud at the Pink Houses public housing complex (NYCHA) in East New York, where building numbers mark the territory of rival gangs, he said. DailyNews.

After being shot by an alleged member of the Loopy Gang, which is linked to the Ninedees, Walls took the stand in a federal court trial in 2019. That earned her the label of “snitch” and continued scorn from some gang members. in the zone.

“Shatavia has been a rat and keeps snitching,” said a flyer posted at the housing development before her testimony. Walls did not see herself as a snitch and she explained on the stand: “I defend myself…. “I defend myself.”

Months later, on July 4, 2020, Walls got into trouble with Miller and his gang, fighting with him and his cousin over illegal fireworks at the housing complex. She overtook them and hit them both. Miller called her a “snitch” during the melee and fired a shot into the air before leaving.

On July 7, some gang members saw her, chased her down a road in the housing development and riddled her with bullets. Miraculously she survived at first, but she died 10 days later.

Ninedee members Quintin Green and Joe Santana fired the bullets, while another gang member, Shakur Bay, threw the clothing the duo was wearing into an incinerator chute, prosecutors said. Another Nindeee member, Kevin Wint, rented a hotel room at the Best Western near JFK Airport where the gunmen were able to hide overnight.

At the time, Santana was a 16-year-old teenager and said he had committed the crime to fulfill an initiation rite into the gang. The four of them have since reached plea deals, but Miller went to trial.

“Today’s verdict is momentous because it holds Miller accountable for orchestrating a dastardly plot to kill a woman who bravely stood up to his Ninedee gang, and upholds the rule of law for Pink Houses residents who just want to get on with their lives and raise their children without the plague of violence and danger inflicted on them by ruthless criminals like the defendant,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Clashes between gang members constantly leave victims in New York, among themselves and other people, some hit “at random” in streets, schools, public transportation and businesses. Clashes are often linked to a battle for territory and suspects often incriminate themselves by boasting and posting about their crimes on social media. “People are posting as much as they can. They are very shameless with their posts. And if that is the case, we are ready to take advantage of it,” warned New York Police Chief Jason Savino.

At the end of May, 18 young people, some of them minors, were arrested on suspicion of being linked to gang shootings that have left innocent bystanders as victims in Brooklyn.

Days later Jean “Bigga Twirl” Fremont (32) was sentenced to 35 years in prison for unleashing a gang war after his gold chain was stolen in Brooklyn. In February, a Mexican worker was shot dead “at random” during a confrontation between teenage gang members in broad daylight at a subway station in the Bronx.