Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEWARK, N.J. – Six members of a Jersey City gang have been charged with the Aug. 3, 2020, stabbing of an individual on a busy street in Jersey City, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.

Sheldon Mays, aka “Thottie,” 21, Jermaine Jennings, aka “Maine” and “Drill,” 20, Divine Abraham, aka “Dee,” 21, Jamil Bowens, 20, and Jaylen Boone, 21, all of Jersey City, made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa today and were detained. Yahsier Brown, 19, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court and was detained. They each are charged by complaint with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Mays, Jennings, Abraham, Bowens, Boone and Brown are allegedly members of a street gang known to operate around the Curries Woods Housing Complex in Jersey City. In retaliation for a prior assault of Mays by Individual-1 and other members of a rival gang, and in furtherance of an ongoing feud amongst the two gangs, the defendants sought out Individual-1, assaulted him, and stabbed him in broad daylight on a busy street in Jersey City. Individual-1 suffered life-threatening injuries.

The count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Matthews; the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; and the Hudson County Department of Corrections with the investigation leading to the charges.

This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combating violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole Board, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracey Agnew and DeNae Thomas in the Criminal Division in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.