By Sheetal Banchariya and Leonard Greene
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The largest ever takedown of a single gang in Queens netted a trove of deadly weapons and led to dozens of arrests of members who participated in a violent turf war that terrorized neighborhoods for years, officials said Thursday.
In all, 32 reputed gang members were indicted on charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in connection with a four-year turf battle in southeast Queens that often played out in broad daylight, near parks, public schools and residential areas.
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“They terrorized rivals, and harmed innocent bystanders, to maintain and expand their geographic dominance,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. ’”Tragically, three people were murdered due to this gang’s indiscriminate violence. We will not relent in our work to dismantle gangs in this borough.”
The gang — the Bad-Co Ballout gang — was responsible for at least 13 shootings dating back to 2021 — including the three homicides, Katz said.
The gang was based in Queens Village, which members referred to as “Shadyville,” she said.
The “Shadyville” title was a tribute to the gang’s reputed leader Jahvon Attapoku, 21, who goes by the nickname “Shady,” officials said.
“And remember that Queens Village is a quiet residential neighborhood,” Katz said. “They called it ‘Shadyville.’ I refuse to give up the neighborhood.”
Law enforcement sources said Attapoku stored and distributed loaded and operable firearms at his Queens Village home and directed gang members to wage war with rivals.
Attapoku faces charges including conspiracy, attempted murder, possession of a weapon and reckless assault.
Among the shootings tied to the gang was the murder of Mark Greene, 18, on Nov. 2, 2022. According to the indictment, Attapoku and an associate, Jeff “Havoc” Joseph robbed Greene outside a high school in Kew Gardens Hills around 3 p.m.
Officials said Joseph shot and killed Greene during the robbery.
Last year, a 15-year-old member pulled a gun and fired at a rival gang member across a St. Albans intersection, according to the indictment. William Alcindor, a 66-year-old motorist, was caught in the gunfire as he drove on Baisley Blvd.
Alcindor lost control and hit a woman on the sidewalk, seriously injuring her. The driver was pronounced dead shortly after the incident.
“For years, the members of these rival gangs terrorized communities in Queens, turning neighborhoods into their own deadly playgrounds and then bragging about it on social media,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “They wanted credit for the shootings they carried out, and today, we’re happy to give it to them.”
They didn’t only boast on social media. One alleged gang member, Sean Chang, 20, was so proud of his violent work, that he was nicknamed “Broad Day” for his propensity to carry out shootings in broad daylight, Katz said.
Chang was charged with shooting a 16-year-old with a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol in the rear of Cardozo High School in Bayside in 2022.
The announcement of the arrests included the release of surveillance of several shootings including afternoon gunplay at a Cambria Heights McDonald’s that sent patrons ducking for cover last year.
Another video showed a shooting in 2022, during which a teenage girl studying in her St Albans home was wounded by a bullet that penetrated her home. Outside, gang members had fired 23 rounds trying to kill a rival but shot the girl in the leg instead.
The young girl recovered.
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