Bloods Ringleader Sentenced Friday To 17 Years
Operation Dead End Yields 324 Years For Gang Members
The ringleader for an Asbury Park-based violent criminal street gang was sentenced Friday to 17 years by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced via a written statement.
Altyreek Leonard, 24, of Asbury Park was a part of the Operation Dead End arrests, which in the 2014 snared 53 people, including several known “Bloods” and “Crips” street gang members, officials said.
Leonard pleaded guilty in November to first degree racketeering conspiracy, second degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, and third degree possession of methylone [commonly known as Molly] with intent to distribute.
The 17-year sentence falls under the No Early Release Act [NERA], meaning Leonard must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole and five years supervision following his release.
He received a seven year concurrent sentence for the other charges.
“We will continue to target the violent gang members who are terrorizing our neighborhoods, Gramiccioni said. “These gangs funnel deadly drugs such as heroin, crack cocaine and synthetic ecstasy into our communities, and put illegal weapons into the hands of criminals fixated on inflicting violence in the streets. They must and will be stopped.”
The Operation Dead End investigation started in the summer of 2013, in conjunction with local law enforcement efforts to stem violent street crimes and firearms offenses in Asbury Park. It was named for the two dead end streets where criminal activity was based – Dewitt Avenue, and a section of Jersey Street in the Washington Village Public Housing Complex.
The lengthy investigation revealed that members of criminal organizations acted together on numerous occasions to commit a series of armed robberies, residential burglaries, and thefts, which included an organized shoplifting ring that had an established relationship with the owners of a local pawn shop, officials said. The gang members regularly conspired to commit several different gun-related offenses, including unlawfully possessing firearms, transferring guns between various members of the criminal organization, and targeting rival gang members and enemies for shootings. They supported their criminal activities through the distribution of cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, and ‘molly,’ a form of ecstasy.
In total, 17 people were sentenced for gun offenses, 11 for drug distribution, 10 for racketeering conspiracy, four for robbery or armed robbery, three for attempted murder or conspiracy to commit murder, equating to a sum of 324 years, officials said.
Among them were Crips gang leader Haneef Walker, sentenced to 47 years; bloods member James Fair, sentenced to 82 years; former Asbury Park Police Officer Keith German, sentenced to 10 years.
The cases were prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Matthew Bogner and Joseph Cummings. Leonard was represented by John Murphy of Farmingdale.
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