Alleged New Jersey Gang Members Accused of Trafficking Guns Over Twitter
Three New Jersey teenagers were indicted by an Essex County grand jury Friday on charges that they used Twitter to facilitate a variety of gang and gun-related crimes, NJ Advance Media reports.
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter said that Bomani Duncan, 19, is accused of 22 counts of robbery, gun trafficking, and other charges, NJ Advance reports. Prosecutors say that Duncan, allegedly a member of the Bloods G-Shine set, conspired to illegally buy and sell guns via Twitter. He was arrested in East Orange in September.
Yasin Shabazz, 18, was charged with attempting to buy a gun from Duncan without a valid purchasers’ permit and attempting to sell a handgun to Duncan using the micro-blogging service.
According to the New York Daily News, the indictment alleges that Duncan tweeted a photograph of his 32-caliber revolver and, in March, conspired with Taquan Williams, 19, rob a woman.
Williams was indicted on seven of counts, including conspiracy to commit robbery, multiple weapons charges, and possession of prescription pills with intent to distribute.
NJ Advance reports that Duncan was remanded into custody at the Essex County Jail Facility on $150,000 bail after an arraignment hearing.
Pictured: Duncan and Williams. Photo via NJ.com/Essex County DOC. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.