The Streets With Gangs | DOUBLE EPISODE | The FBI Files

as crack cocaine tore through Washington DC a drug being fought authorities fought back with everything they had but gang members used any means to avoid prosecution as the violence raged out of control [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you [Music] in the early 1990s Washington DC became the murder capital of the nation few were left untouched by gang violence which was ignited by the drug trade by 1994 that violence would strike at the very heart of law enforcement I'm Jim calstrom former head of the FBI's New York office would fall to the FBI to lead an international Manhunt and bring in the leader of the city's most vicious gang October 26 1995 the nation's capital was about to become the backdrop to another bloody crime gunman broke into a home in the Northwest section of the city get up get up get up back up they targeted Gerald Gaither demanding his cash the home William Ragland was accosted while working in his basement upstairs one of the gunmen discovered Nancy Hatchett and Darlene Hatchett pregnant's daughter and granddaughter to convince Gator to cooperate the gunman terrorized each of the residents [Music] tell us where the money is where is it gays are denied having more cash or drugs one of the gunny turned his 22 caliber handgun towards nine-year-old retired federal worker died instantly it is Andre Madison another Resident was hustled into the living one of the three attackers noticed his gold necklace and ripped it from his neck the one man was dead Gator still refused get up what are you what are you doing enraged one of the gunmen began shooting the residents the robbery attempt collapsed into murder Trio quickly fled the house foreign Nancy Hatchett called 9-1-1 offices from DC's Metropolitan Police Department quickly arrived at the house located in a known drug area inside three people were dead [Music] William Ragland his granddaughter Darlene Hatchett and Gerald Gaither pictures were taken of each body and shell casings were collected outside police discovered vomit near the door [Music] hey how you doing Nancy Hatchett and Andre Madison the only survivors tried to help police develop suspects okay so but the attackers were masked making identification difficult [Music] for Metropolitan homicide detective Anthony brigadini a check on victim Gerald Gaither suggested a possible motive the main victim of the triple was a drug dealer in the first and Kennedy Street area uh the guy drove flashy cars had nice clothes had a lot of money when the drug dealer was unable to give them enough money and or drugs uh things started to get a little harried and uh that's when the shootings occurred inside neighbors told police that after hearing gunshots they saw a dark-colored sedan with a loud Muffler leaving the area [Music] and all points bulletin was issued for the vehicle in three men inside spotted a noisy vehicle that fit the report [Music] losing three men inside the vehicle the officers whose poor police asked the men for identification [Music] the driver was identified as Benny Lee Lawson the passengers were determined to be Kobe MOA and Jermaine Gray [Music] in one of their pants Pockets police recovered a broken necklace the details from the murder scene were still incomplete was the necklace was meaningless after recording all of the men's names and addresses the three were soon released there was no evidence in the car to connect them to the emergency despite the lack of solid suspect homicide detectives believe that Gerald Gaither had been murdered by a rival drug gang by 1990 crack cocaine had hit the streets in Washington DC neighborhood gangs began to emerge throughout the city when it became clear that there was a lot of money to be made from dealing the truck as more and more money flowed to The Gangs they resorted to violence to protect their Turf from rival drug dealers in 1994 the nation's capital was averaging nearly 400 homicides a year D.C police joined forces with the FBI on several federal agencies to combat the drug-related violence most of the murders remained unsolved [Music] hoping to Rattle free a lead of Travelers detectives began canvassing the neighborhood where the murders took place neighbors were too afraid to openly cooperate some were willing to phone in information anonymously [Music] one tip led to Benny Lee Lawson one of the three men pulled over the night of the homicides Benny we need to know investigators learned that the gold necklace taken from Andre Madison matched the one officers found on one of the men in Lawson's car detective brigadini questioned Lawson Lawson's interview lasted about three or four hours and different detectives went in and spent some time with Lawson in an attempt to get him to provide some sort of information about his involvement in the troubled murder Lawson repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the triple murder and refused to take a polygraph test [Music] investigators tried to shake his story with the false threat that they could put him at the murder scene through a DNA test of the recovered vomit [Music] Lawson remained unswayed after four hours police had no choice but to release him [Music] Lawson's name was run through the crime database he had been identified by police intelligence units as a member of One of DC's most violent and feared street gangs the first in Kennedy Street crew named after the city blocks the group lived on and controlled organized in 1988 the crew was involved in drug dealing theft kidnappings drive-by shootings and murder the men with Benny Lawson the night of the murders Kobe moatt and Jermaine Graves confronted him about the long hours he spent with the homicide detectives they believed he had snitched and told the police about the gang's involvement in the triple murder Lawson was infuriated by the accusation he hated the police he assured the two that he had revealed nothing to investigators since no arrests have been made Graves was country the cops had no evidence he declared that he would leave the country rather than be indicted for murder Lawson vowed he would never go back to prison where he once had been raped what they asking Lawson returned home that night being labeled as snitch was an insult to his loyalty towards the crew and for a gang member on the streets it was a death sentence foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] a few days before Thanksgiving Benny Lawson returned to Metropolitan Police Department headquarters was around 3 15 pm he was trying to locate the homicide department he had visited several days earlier hey he asked two teenagers for Directions They mistakenly led him to the Cold Case Squad team inside the office was made up of personnel from the MPD and the FBI whose job was to breathe life into the growing number of Unsolved homicide investigations inside the office where FBI agents Martha Dixon Martinez John kufta Mike Miller and Metropolitan Police Sergeant Hank Daly the teenagers who were there for a scheduled appointment began to speak with the offices with no warning Lawson pulled out his M11 assault handgun and started fire was under attack repeated gunfire echoed through Washington D.C police headquarters detectives race to the third floor office where the shield continued no one knew what was going on behind the locked doors come on across town at the FBI's Washington field office it was just a normal day like any other day and we were monitoring one of the Police radios and we heard a call go out that there had been a shooting at MPD headquarters okay let's quickly determined the shooting is taking place inside the Cold Case office where several FBI agents were on duty and very quickly we start at the page our agents that were assigned to the Cold Case homicide Squad to try to account for all of them and as time progressed we weren't hearing back from some of the agents and we realized that that we we might have some agents inside there and as we listened the calls became more serious and they were requesting assistance critically wounded special agent John kufta was attracted [Music] when the shooting has stopped I could hear the shouts from officers outside the office trying to get in store it was just a few feet away at that point I Heard a Voice telling me they couldn't get in and I thought to myself you know I'm not going to die in here I thought of you know my wife my month old daughter at the time and and I knew that if I stayed awake if I continue to breathe if I continue to pray and if they got me to a hospital I'd be alive shot in the thigh arm stomach neck and chest Clifton managed to open the door the only other visible person with a Rescuers was Metropolitan Police Sergeant Hank daily barely clinging to life he was dragged from the road oh rushed outside where a helicopter waited to transport him to the hospital not knowing if the shooter was planning another Ambush the officers waited for the SWAT team to arrive [Music] FBI agents and SWAT teams from around the capitol Capital converged on the Metro living police headquarters yells continued from inside the room as the SWAT team arrived heavily armed they entered the rule 56k they first discovered FBI agent Mike Miller's body his weapon was still in its holster in an adjoining room the SWAT team discovered the body of an unidentified black male there was a gunshot wound on his hip and a fatal wound to his head FBI agent Martha Dixon Martinez was the final victim found he had gunshot wounds in her back near her lay the gun the shooter had likely used to kill her and the others an M11 assault weapon shouts for help came from inside a closet suspect in a closet opened the door slowly knowing if he was a suspect or an innocent bystander the SWAT team apprehended one of the teams who had walked in the room before the shooting began the other teenager had managed to flee the office earlier after being shot in the leg they don't even know the guy supervisory Special Agent Mark Giuliano and other agents arrived at the scene I just remember walking through the hallway and just seeing the chaotic scene and the blood and and just the the total um a realm of emotions on everybody's face from you know being focused on on the mission of trying to figure out what happened and could there be other people involved based on the crime scene analysis investigators quickly reconstructed what had happened inside in all their shows over there yes after Miller kofta and Daly were ambushed agent Dixon Martinez joined the firefight she was able to shoot the suspect in the hip before being shot in the arm dropping her gun attacker took her nine millimeter handgun and shot the agent in the back she tried to crawl for cover he then put the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger police fingerprinted the shooter hopefully his identity would shed light on his actions two FBI agents were dead Sergeant Hank Daly would not survive his injuries it would be the first time in eight years that more than one FBI agent had been killed at a single time it was also one of the worst attacks in history on the DC police agent kufta would endure seven major medical operations before recovery the loss of his co-workers Sergeant Hank Daly agents Mike Miller and Martha Dixon Martinez was devastating Martha Mike and Hank were law enforcement Heroes they didn't as much lose their lives as gave their lives for a cause of Justice For A Cause that they so deeply believed within hours the investigation Charles moving forward the Fingerprints of the shooter had come back when the information came up about the identity of the shooter a detective had the information came into a conference area where the majority of the homicide officials and detectives were and it was announced that the the shooter was Benny Lee Lawson Jr when homicide detective Anthony brigadini heard the news he realized his Squad was the probable Target of Lawson's Rampage Lawson and the first and Kennedy Street crew with a prime suspense Darlene Hatchett and Gerald Gaither shootings at headquarters showed just how far the gangs would go to protect themselves I think that law enforcement as a whole has learned that people operating gangs or Crews or serious about what it is that they're doing they won't stop at at any cost to get their mission accomplished now that Federal officers have been murdered the FBI was given jurisdiction in the investigation of the crew let's go I was detailed to work jointly with the FBI to investigate the first in Kennedy Street crew who at that time we felt were responsible for um essentially Lawson's actions here at police headquarters after joining the task force brigadini shared what he knew about Benny Lawson and the crew special agent John Kerr was on the team for him Benny Lawson's connection with the first in Kennedy Street crew raised serious questions was this just a random act by many Lee Lawson or with their accomplices did he have any help in this where there will be any further attacks on on agents and police and uh so that that was a reason that we opened up an investigation to answer those questions was this a conspiracy investigators obtained a search warrant that night for the house Lawson had lived in his room they uncovered a note written to the members of the D.C homicide unit who had interrogated him threatening to kill them all right there gang-related materials violent rap lyrics and drawings of murders were everywhere for investigators the items in Lawson's room reflected a fixation with violence commend to virtually all gang members it was very obvious and disturbing that these individuals were living this lifestyle this is the lifestyle that they uh were a part of this is the lifestyle that they identified with and wanted this they wanted to actually live the same lifestyle as the as the lyrics that they were writing the pictures they were drawing and the videos that they had oh as the victims of the shootings were laid to rest investigators were planning their strategy to ensure that these gang members could never kill again with six homicides on their hands including two FBI agents and a Washington DC police detective a joint FBI MPD task force began gathering information on the first and Kennedy Street FBI Agent Mark Giuliano headed up and our goal was to a investigate the crew because they were a violent street gang and B to try to determine what the motivation was of Benny Lee Lawson to come into Police Headquarters and do what he did and to determine if there was anybody else involved at either end either in helping him get there to pull off what he did or helping the crew afterwards to cover up what had happened [Applause] in the wake of the shootings at headquarters police pressure on gang members increased was reacted by spending less time [Music] building a case against them for their criminal activity would be difficult [Music] penetrable to Outsiders planting an undercover agent inside the gang was too dangerous what we realized is that a we had a very close crew that is they they took care of each other and watched each other very closely but they were very very leery of Outsiders they had been leery before but they were even more leery now and that any attempts for us to get somebody an agent or a police officer on the inside was uh was not something that we were going to even attempt to do instead agents would have to gather intelligence on the Kung Fu covert surveillance as time went on the gang returned to business as usual all right we got the FBI we had extensive surveillance coverage of the area day and night identifying everyone that came onto the block identifying who the buyers were what time of day where did they go when they bought did they get into a car did they go into an alleyway did they do it hand to hand right there in front of you all these things we started to uh take notice of and document through surveillance the leaders of the crew were soon identified Kobe MOA and his second in command Jermaine Graves the two men in the car with many lost in the night of the first triple homicide on the streets moat was known to be violent and unpredictable the reputation of Kobe MOA was that of fear that he would react quickly at times he had a temper he always carried a gun and could be extremely violent at times looking into Kobe's patent investigators discovered he shared a common history of Graves and with Benny Lawsons their relationship developed in 1990 while serving together in Washington DC's Lorton prison located in Northern Virginia for weapons violations while preparing for a drive-by shoot task force members were convinced that moat and Graves played some role in all six murders but the leaders of the first and Kennedy Street crew continued to keep a low profile agents devised a long-term strategy that would net not only moat and Graves but also the entire gang membership they would slowly build a conspiracy case against the crew that would include the entire range of their criminal activities crack cocaine trafficking yeah Supreme agents would work themselves Inside by first targeting individuals purchase their drugs [Applause] that allow them to watch and record the gang committing crime [Applause] crime and by arresting the buyers agents would have leverage to turn them into informants we'd come into an area when we thought that they'd be the most active in selling drugs and in order to identify someone and hopefully get lucky catch someone with some drugs and maybe force them to work for us at some point some of the buyers arrested were unwilling to cooperate at first the dangerous reputations of moat and Graves were well known with the threat of long prison sentences was powerful [Music] the FBI strategy paid off threatened with significant jail time one of the biggest drug suppliers to the crew decided to become an Informer at the FBI's Direction you would generate conversation with crew members about their illegal activities and he'd have conversations with them and they'd like to brag about what they've done and at our Direction he would bring something up say an old drive-by shooting or an old murder or something about drug dealing and these individuals would just start to talk about it and talk about who was involved what happened all this was being recorded through the informants and the recordings agents learned that moat Graves and Lawson had killed previously less than three weeks before breaking into William ragland's house they had kidnapped and murdered another rival drug dealer Billy Woods was a well-known dealer from a rival gang Jermaine Graves arranged to lure Woods to his mother's house once there robbed him and beat him fearing the rival gang would retaliate against the crew they shot him three times and dumped his body foreign [Music] testimony from another informant that further implicated moat Graves and Lawson in the triple murder William ragland's house first in Kennedy he overheard Benny Kobe and Jermaine Graves talking about the triple homicide and one of the things that he mentioned that they were giving Benny a hard time for was the fact that he threw up at the scene at the triple homicide that's something that only the homicide detectives knew and that we knew and had not been released to the public the information was only circumstantial but months of surveillance and informant testimony gave agents enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for the homes of Kobe moat and Jermaine Graves they would strike at Jermaine Graves first a heavily armed SWAT team made their way inside his house oh more agents would not leave empty-handed we were able to locate a nine millimeter gun semi-automatic pistol as well as some crack cocaine will we believe to be crack cocaine one of the members on the squad took the information that we got from the gun and put together an affidavit for an arrest warrant based on the fact that it was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm for several weeks Graves they continued surveillance hoping it would turn up [Music] we really didn't know where he was we had some ideas we knew he was still in the metro area but obviously he knew once we hit his house that we were looking for him and where was on the street that we were looking for him so he was keeping a very low profile during one of our very standard surveillances I saw an individual who walked like Jermaine Graves just from the back I couldn't see his face so I asked one of the units to drive around the block and just take a look at the guy and the next thing I know they jumped out and arrested him they knew as soon as I pulled around the corner it was him and you know he was arrested right down the street corner first in Kennedy just a few months after the first triple murder Graves was off the streets making a case against Kobe MOA would prove D with the arrest of gang member Jermaine Graves on a weapons charge the FBI task force was one step closer to taking the first in Kennedy crew off of the Washington DC streets [Music] now agents were ready to serve a search warrant on the home of the cruise leader Kobe moat the SWAT team ended the house could be shared with his twin brother Karine the two never knew what hit them [Music] investigators found gang-related dockets drawings and writings and a small amount of marijuana [Music] they found no guns or evidence of the murders but that was not their prime interest the task force hunted for evidence of a larger crime videos everywhere mostly evidence we were looking for at the time was list of crew members shirts that they all wore with the the logo on them the pictures phone books things that would associate this group together the Twins were arrested on drug charges and taken in for booking [Music] Kobe's time in jail was brief only his brother Kareem's fingerprints were on the back of the pot [Music] Kobe was released and the possession charge was dropped agents were determined to see him back behind bars you know what investigators continued developing informants from within the Gang [Music] they got the break they were looking for facing jail time on a drug charge a member of the first and Kennedy crew agreed to cooperate finally investigators learned the answer to the question that had most plagued them why did Benny Lee Lawson go into Police Headquarters and kill two FBI agents and an MPD sergeant yeah Jimmy all right it started the night Kobe moat Jermaine Graves and Benny Lee Lawson broke into the home of William right the Trio's plan had been to Rob drug dealer Gerald Gates Jermaine Graves became frustrated by gaither's refusal to cooperate and he snapped killing three of the residents overwhelmed that side the home sign of weak Ness took going on the informant continued when Lawson was brought in for questioning by investigators moat was sure Lawson had snitched he began to tell others in the crew that Lawson was cooperating he was sitting around Benny hated snitches he hated him he actually pistol whipped one uh individual whom he thought was snitching and probably hated him more than any other crew member so to have Kobe think that he was ratting or snitching on him and to go out to First and Kennedy Street crew and have the rest of the crew look at him as a snitch we believe was more than he could he could handle really for agents and investigators it was now clear that Kobe moatt Jermaine Graves and Benny Lawson had committed the triple homicide agents took their case to the U.S attorney's office through these conversations and the cooperating Witnesses plus the information that we that the police had from the car stop the night of the triple murder was left us no doubt that they had enough to get a murder warrant for these guys for the for the triple murder it was also clear that Kobe moat was part of the reason Benny Lee Lawson murdered Three Investigators inside the Metropolitan Police Department agents finally felt ready to go before a grand jury and present their conspiracy case against Kobe molot and the entire crew among the 57 charges that were handed down were indictments for nearly a dozen homicides drug trafficking armed robbery kidnapping and racketeering already in custody Graves was charged with three counts of felony murder an arrest warrant was issued for Kobe mullet investigators returned to his house [Music] the closets had been emptied the place looked like it had been abandoned [Music] in the trash investigators found a receipt for a plane ticket it appeared that Kobe had kept his promise to flee rather than go to jail plane ticket was for just a few days before we hit the place and the plane ticket was from New York to Moscow and at that point we knew that Kobe had most likely fled not only the area but most likely the country moat was one step ahead of the ages they tried to pick up his Trail in Russia but he was nowhere to be found investigators discovered there was a flight departing to Africa soon after he landed in Moscow a check of the passenger list revealed nothing agents grew increasingly more frustrated moat was slipping away for six months FBI agents in Washington DC police tried to track fugitive Kobe moment you could be hiding anywhere an international Manhunt was underway we literally went mutts without a break we went through hundreds and hundreds of documents that we had obtained during search warrants during various parts of the investigation looking for overseas phone numbers looking for overseas relatives once again without a break after several months agent John Kerr got a break we through an informant he uncovered the name of an ex-girlfriend of Kobe's we had come up with addresses for one of the addresses we came up with we subpoenaed the toll records and sure enough we found a collect call from Kenya on one of her toll records and uh this was shortly after he would have arrived in Africa agents brought her in for questioning she repeatedly denied knowing anything about Kobe moat's whereabouts he's out killing people agents confronted her about the phone records if she continued to withhold information they would serve her with a grand jury subpoena she decided to cooperate [Music] she told investigators that Kobe had in fact called her several times from Nairobi Kenya he had not called her recently she believed he might have moved on to Tanzania the information was immediately passed on overseas moat's phone call to his ex-girlfriend had originated from a hotel in Nairobi [Music] the U.S Department of State Regional security officer in Kenya followed the lead the hotel owner said he had no recollection of Kobe moat understand agent Giuliano received the news and it becomes very very frustrating because once again we're getting no new information we're not getting a break and we know that the only tie that we have now is this hotel in Nairobi Kenya so we go back to the regional security officers and ask them to go back and reinterview the individual again the hotel owner insisted he knew nothing about Kobe molot when shown photographs he seemed to hesitate the regional security officer kept pressing finally the owner asked for a guarantee that if he gave information Kobe would never be told the regional security officer agreed to protect him he said Kobe had in fact been to his hotel but he had left several months ago yeah he gave the security officer a number that Kobe had called while at the hotel the call was to the east African country of Tanzania do not let him know he got this information took agents a few days to determine why the hotel owner protected the first and Kennedy Street crew leader what we determined is that Kobe's mother was educated in Jamaica and during that process she had befriended several individuals who ended up going to various parts of the world she had an association with this hotel owner in Nairobi and she had made the contact to protect Kobe and to help him the phone number in Tanzania eventually LED investigators to a local college professor he was a friend of Kobe moat's mother the FBI asked the Tanzanian National Police Department to follow the lead no the professor was unwilling to cooperate with the authorities certainly not a student the National Police began their own investigation into Kobe moat's whereabouts in their country as the search for the gang leader intensified in Tanzania agents and police in Washington DC continued to build their case against the first and Kennedy crew they amassed volumes of evidence from surveillance and informant testimony over the previous year there were about 20 to 25 Metropolitan Police Department officers and FBI special agents working on this investigation Around the Clock whether it was determining phone records or uncovering new murders that these guys had committed over the years on September 14 1995. officers and agents executed over a dozen arrest warrants research for any indication of the gang Leader's whereabouts in Africa they found nothing they collected additional evidence of a criminal Enterprise They confiscated Financial records guns drugs and gang paraphernalia some of those arrested agreed to cooperate in exchange for Less jail time investigators were slowly taking all of the gang members off the streets in Tanzania the search for Kobe MOA was heating up the National Police Force developed their own informants and learned that moat had in fact been in contact with the university professor perhaps they returned to interview him he once more denied knowing anything about Kobe [Music] threatening the jamaican-born professor with deportation the Tanzanian police convinced him to reconsider he offered to take the authorities there and this Hut is literally out in the middle of the tribes people who are living in straw Huts or actually just living on the ground right amongst the wild animals and amongst where they grow their crops it was the last place on Earth authorities would have thought to look for moat unaware that the professor at betrayed his location moat was surprised to see the police approaching his Hut set fire to anything that could potentially identify but the police quickly moved in and bounced the flame what did I do while they searched for a reason to place him in custody they never told moat why they were there they also determined that out in the back he's growing a small amount of marijuana what they call bongi and in that part of the the country it's a it's against the law and the penalty is 10 years in prison or a hundred dollars so they they bought him in based on that premise telling him that he was going to be incarcerated for that investigators in Washington received the news that Moore was in custody but time was working against them the Tanzanian police could only hold Kobe on the possession charge for a short period as a drug trafficker moat had plenty of cash on hand to pay the hundred dollar fine after days of diplomatic wrangling the arrangements for moat's extradition to the United States were finalized [Music] agent Giuliano and detective brigadini traveled to Tanzania to take him into custody investigators were finally face to face with the man who had eluded them for over a year [Music] when he came in Kobe looked tired and uh he looked like he had been defeated we explained to him what the charges were that he was being removed to the United States that he had been indicted in the United States for a variety of charges and including several counts of first-degree murder in racketeering Milan was on his way back to the United States number he and fellow gang members faced 57 indictments Jermaine Graves would be convicted on all counts they were each sentenced to 35 years in a federal prison [Music] moet's capture in Africa allowed investigators to get the remaining first in Kennedy crew members off the streets when we bought Kobe back to the United States he just had a domino effect on the rest of the rest of the crew members eventually every crew member pled guilty because they they felt and actually told us that once they saw that we had found Kobe in East Africa and bought them back that they felt they didn't stand a chance FBI agents in D.C police were tirelessly to bring Justice to the victims of gang violence but this case was also personal only after the entire gang was in jail because they have a sense of closure and feel they had Vindicated the deaths of their friends Sergeant Hank Daly and FBI agents Mike Miller and Martha Dixon Martinez for agent John kufta who barely survived the attack in Police Headquarters the implications of this case were far-reaching when this group was locked up I think it sent a clear message to other criminal organizations out there operating in the District of Columbia and in that tri-state area there that the FBI and the D.C police will go to whatever lengths are necessary if it takes them to other continents to track you down and find you and bring you back to the United States to Justice in New York in the 1980s the emergence of crack cocaine brought a new wave of violence drug dealers robbed and killed as they scrambled for power [Music] ordinary citizens were victimized even children are not immune the FBI joined forces with the New York City Police to take back the streets their best weapon against deadly drug gangs sea level Squad [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] New York City is no stranger to gang violence but when a 12 year old child was kidnapped The Gangs had crossed the line law enforcement raced to find the missing boy before it was too late I'm Jim calstrom former head of the FBI's New York office agents would have to infiltrate the secretive world of a vicious gang to stop the murderous exploits of a drug lord crack cocaine invaded the Harlem Section of New York as it did many urban areas in America over time the cheap highly addictive drug crippled communities unlike any other drug had before with the crack came ruthlessly violent gangs that ruled the streets no one was truly safe [Music] on December 5th 1989 twelve-year-old Donnell Porter was walking to elementary school he never made it to class today [Music] when he didn't arrive home after school his family worried they hadn't been able to find him in the neighborhood [Music] at 9 00 PM danelle's sister received a phone call the other end said Donnell had been kidnapped he wanted five hundred thousand dollars so the boy would be killed the sister said the family didn't have that kind of money it didn't matter to the caller yeah he warned them not to contact police then instructed them to go to a restaurant at 125th and Broadway find a trash can in the restroom they'd find something that would prove he was serious [Music] the family friend went to the restaurant so the porters could stay by the phone he didn't know if it was a setup [Music] following the kidnapper's orders he checked behind the trash container and found a coffee can inside were two rings an audio cassette and a child's severed finger [Music] Donnell was hurt and could be bleeding to death despite being warned not to the family called the New York City Police the family told investigators what they knew [Music] detectives inspected the evidence the sister said that the Rings belonged to Donnell they've been given to the boy by his older brother on the tape a recorded plea for help was definitely Darnell's voice [Music] the family told detectives about a second call in which the kidnapper had lowered his Ransom to 350 thousand dollars [Music] it was still far beyond their means they said they didn't know why they were targeted for such a high Ransom but detectives knew what the family wouldn't say back the victim's older brother Richard Porter was a major crack cocaine dealer in the area police believe that kidnapping was related to his drug Empire [Music] NYPD contacted the New York FBI's reactive squad for assistance special agent David Higgins our narcotics expert was asked to provide more intelligence on Richard Porter Richard Porter then about 25 years of age was a well-known crack dealer whose activities took place in central Harlem he was one of those individuals who got in early on the crack trade in New York and he had created a significant drug Empire in central Harlem Richard Porter had made millions of dollars selling crack on New York streets what's going on man it didn't take long to find Porter detectives recognized the person he was with as his drug running partner albo Martin this visit wasn't about drugs it was about finding Donnell Porter agreed to come to the station for an interview though he said he didn't know how he could help but he claimed to know nothing about who was behind his brother's kidnapper on the streets these matters are usually solved without the cops though Porter most likely held the key to finding Darnell he was in no position to talk to authorities Richard Porter uh because of his situation as a drug trafficker found himself in a ticklish situation legally it would have been difficult for him to cooperate directly with law enforcement I believe he attempted to handle this situation on his own to some extent police had nothing to hold him on authorities needed to find someone else to help them the canvassed the area trying to gather information on the kidnapping in such a close-knit neighborhood someone had to have heard something about Donnell but residents were too afraid to talk Harlan's violent gangs had a Stranglehold on the community detectives were left with nothing passing day police in nypd's 32nd Precinct no Darnell's chance of survival decreased investigators maintained contact with the boy's family who were desperate for more word from the kidnappers a week after the Abduction the family received a note in it the kidnappers hinted Danelle was still alive they demanded their money but no more Ransom calls came with no clues to the boy's whereabouts and no one talking police had reached a dead end they somehow needed to pressure Richard Porter into cooperation or hope he would pay the ransom to get Danelle back then on January 4th 1990 a month after danelle's abduction the body of his brother drugged Kingpin Richard Porter was found in a Bronx Park he had been shot twice in the head and chest there would be no one to pay the ransom now it was widely assumed that Richard's death was connected to the kidnapping and probably the result of a ransom payment gone bad however it was noted early on that when his body was discovered his wallet contained over two thousand dollars in U.S currency his jewelry was there apparently his automobile was nearby so there was some question about what the actual motivations were behind his murder Richard Porter's death investigators lost their closest connection to the abducted 12 year old to find another source they increased pressure on lower level dealers in Porter's organization [Music] facing drug charges they were offered leniency in exchange for information some said Porter's partner Alpo Martinez could be involved playing as others claimed an Infamous Harlem gang called the preacher crew might be none offered direct leads to the crime three weeks later a boy's body was recovered in the same Bronx Park where Richard Porter was found his family identified the body of Danelle Porter [Music] cause of death was blunt force trauma to the Head the death of a child is always a disturbing event there's a 12 year old boy he's on the way to public school he's kidnapped uh tortured he's heard on the tape cassette uh crying for help from his family danelle's murder stunned the entire Harlem Community even though violence was a daily occurrence there yeah at the time Sergeant James Marr worked nypd's notorious 32nd Precinct where Danelle lived in the late 80s and early 90s 32nd Precinct which is actually geographically only one square mile was one of the most violent precincts in New York City they averaged in the area of the upper 60s to low 70s of homicides a year and added on to that were shootings several hundred shootings that the people didn't die in response to the increased violence in the city a task force called the c-11 squad had been formed at the FBI's New York field office detectives from the 32nd Precinct and FBI agents were assigned to the squad [Music] c-11 was created to address these entrenched criminal conspiracy groups in the city of New York the locals brought their knowledge of the streets the knowledge of the subjects involved to the table the federal agents brought along with them the access to the federal courts which included the access to the federal sentencing guidelines in the United States attorney's office after the murder of Danelle Porter they knew they had to take back the streets c-11 would first go after Alpo Martinez Richard Porter's partner the problem is here we haven't if their partnership had unraveled he would have had the most to gain from extorting Richard Porter and killing him still working on some surveillance a year earlier a warrant had been sworn out for his arrest on drug charges but when Martinez couldn't be found Federal prosecutors had to drop the warrant in police computers the c-11 squad flagged the names of known associates of Alpo Martinez Annie were arrested they would be notified months later police in Washington D.C pulled over a car after observing its driver engage in a drug deal the driver was a known Courier for Alpo Martinez police found a large amount of crack and thousands of dollars in his car [Music] noting the flag on his record from New York D.C authorities would contact the c-11 squad after The Courier was sentenced to 20 years to life on drug charges c-11 agents had him transported to New York for an interview I want some information an agent explained that under federal law his sentence could be reviewed if he cooperated with authorities he told what he knew about Martinez in porta's East Coast drug operation drugs would be distributed both in New York City by Richard Porter and in Washington D.C by Alpo Martinez while in Washington D.C Martinez Allied himself with individuals that he found to be strong on the street if you will in order to protect his drug operation in Washington D.C and it was not unusual for literally sea bags worth of U.S currency to be shipped out of Northern Virginia and Washington D.C up into the porter neighborhood at 132nd and 7th Avenue in New York City it was enough for a renewed arrest warrant on Alpo Martinez agents canvassed the neighborhood talking to people who knew Martinez most were afraid to talk eventually agents learned The Fugitive was going to pick up his wife's car at a dealership in northern New Jersey undercover agents staked out the dealership they didn't know if Martinez would show up but they knew he liked fast cars that afternoon a sports car pulled out they watched a passenger get out but it wasn't Martinez agents couldn't tell if the fugitive was driving see they had to risk a closer look if they could arrest Martinez it might help solve the murders of Richard Porter and his 12 year old brother Donnell an agent visually identified Martinez as the driver he radioed a go-ahead signal but before the arrest team could respond Martin has spun away [Music] Chase but the fugitive disappeared into heavy traffic with Alpo Martin is still a fugitive the abduction and murder of twelve-year-old Danelle Porter remained unsolved [Music] the abduction and murder of twelve-year-old Donnell Porter showed that Harlem's drug violence was out of control FBI's c-11 Squad knew the murder was connected to the boy's brother crack dealer Richard Porter but Porter himself had been killed c-11 believed finding Porter's partner Alpha Martinez would provide answers but in 1991 Martinez had eluded an FBI undercover operation from the incident the FBI got his license plate number and alerted New York police to be on the lookout for the vehicle the next day police spotted it parked on a Harlem Street they impounded it hoping it might lead to Martins they believe the fugitive wouldn't retrieve the vehicle himself but FBI special agent David Higgins waited to see if he'd send someone a young lady showed up who claimed to be the true owner she was the registered owner ultimately a quick investigation established that she was a what we call a straw man or somebody who had stepped forward in order to buy and register the car on behalf of Mr Martinez Martinez was nowhere to be found in New York acting on a tip that he had traveled to Washington DC Agents set up surveillance at the DC home of the fugitive's ex-wife in the early hours of November 7 1991. they spotted Martin as getting into his ex-wife's vehicle this time he wasn't driving as they pulled out the FBI made their move the fugitive's ex-wife pulled over the cocaine in his possession helped cement the case against one of the biggest drug traffickers on the East Coast ultimately Mr Martin has pled guilty to an indictment in the eastern district of Virginia Which accused him of trafficking in over a thousand kilograms of cocaine the wholesale value of that would be 20 million dollars investigators also had evidence against Martin as on several Gangland murders they told him they knew he was Richard Porter's part so he stood to gain from danelle's and Richard's death hoping to avoid the death penalty Alpha Martin has agreed to cooperate he admitted killing his partner Richard Porter Martin has had begun to suspect his partner had been cheating him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars he said that more than a year earlier on January 4th 1990. he and an associate had taken Richard Porter for a ride almost immediately Martinez and the associate each shot him they dumped his body in the Bronx Park where it was found the next day Martin has swore it was just about missing Drug Money it had nothing to do with Daniel Porter's kidnapping and murder no evidence or testimony linked Martinez to that crime [Music] he went to prison for life although they had put away a major drug dealer the local and federal investigators of the c-11 squad were no closer to solving the murder of Daniel Porter they reviewed FBI intelligence already gathered on other Harlem gangsters who might have profited from extorting and killing Richard Porter [Music] one gang stood out as likely suspect they were known as the preacher crew the gang's leader was Clarence preacher Heatley [Music] FBI special agent Joe Walsh formerly of the c-11 squad knew the preacher and his crew were well entrenched and very dangerous Peter cozy established crew in the neighborhood uh you know for a long time a preacher had been kicking around the streets of home since the early 70s and everybody knew him by his nickname The Black Hand of Death and everybody was deathly afraid of him nypd's Sergeant James Marr of the c-11 squad learned the preacher had a reputation for violence but the gangster was an elusive figure in Harlem you could walk up to anybody in the 32nd Precinct no matter how church going they are no matter whether they're businessmen or local drug dealers they all have a preacher story they all know who preacher is ask any of them to describe preach it to you or a majority of them they're not going to be able to because this guy was an Infamous Legend in Harlem the players in Harlem's drug underworld had carved up the area into zones each block each alley was the established Turf of a single dealer most dealers respected the boundaries but the preacher did not he considered all of Harlem his turf he made his money not by dealing drugs but by taxing other dealers who's mostly into extortion extorting drug deals these are guys that were violent in their own in their own right he would go up and claim their car if a drug dealer looked like he was getting paid so to say he was driving a brand new full-size Mercedes-Benz and preacher like that car that was preachers those who argued with preacher paid a heavy price it was a system that made him a rich man if you're hitting every other drug dealer on the streets you know two thousand hit three thousand here five thousand that's a lot of money it adds up and believe me they all paid because if they didn't pay Peter would pay him a visit or he would order his people to pay him a visit and they'd wind up dead here we took him in last week the preacher's history of extortion and violence made him a likely suspect in the abduction and murder of Donald John c-11 had outlined the basic structure of the preacher crew including some of his other main guys the preacher's main Lieutenant was a man named John cuff he was a particularly dangerous criminal according to c-11's detective Vinnie Flynn John cuff who was an ex New York City Housing cop as a cop he provided protection and bodyguard work for preacher um so if they were driving through the neighborhood and was stopped John cuff had a shield where he would probably be let go and not given a summons or anything further would happen um John cuff had a reputation of one to be feared a very violent person yet no evidence linked either man to Donnell Porter because those c-11 suspected preacher was involved in the deadly kidnapping he probably didn't commit it himself foreign their brutal extortion tactics earned the money and kept Witnesses too intimidated to talk effectively insulating the crew against investigation go into you know you know dagger uh someplace up in Holland and we'd say we know he came in here and the guy would have a cast on his hand we know he broke your hand and and the shop owner was saying I don't know what you're talking about you know and that that shop owner would be paying rent you know or taxed into preacher but nobody would tell us anything with people too afraid to talk crimes continued to pile up on New Year's Eve 1992 emergency units responded to a call in the preacher's territory a man laid dead in his car the victim of a drive-by shooting [Music] family survived the harrowing ordeal they described how The Killers pulled up next to them on the street and opened fire [Music] they claimed they didn't know who did it or why and like danelle's kidnapping no one in the neighborhood admitted seeing anything it was another tragic killing in Harlem that might go unsolved 11 Squad had to breach the areas violently enforced Code of Silence and finally get insiders to talk shocking drive-by shooting was added to the list of unsolved murders in Harlem with Witnesses too afraid to cooperate with police the case was open for two years then in 1994 the c-11 squad found a witness who told them the shooter was a preacher crew member named Malik detective Vinnie Flynn learned that Malik had a violent reputation uh he became a so-called director of security for the preacher organization uh he was in charge of the group of members who were known as the janitors the janitors were the people that had to clean up the problems or the mess of the family and you couldn't be a janitor unless you killed somebody [Music] and tried to send in undercover officers it was yet another dead end according to FBI special agent Joe Walsh [Music] we weren't able to uh really get in so to speak and get an undercover in that to buy narcotics from preacher because preacher was very very careful he was you know he's a very smart man and we couldn't get the the undercover you know close to him the preacher had closed rights ordering the people he extorted not to sell to new buyers and to keep a low profile on the street investigators needed a witness with close ties to the crew [Music] a distributed business cards hoping one would find its way to an Insider willing to talk okay their persistence paid off in April 1994 a crew member contacted the c-11 squad because he realized his life was in danger he said the preacher had started going after his own crew members preacher had killed two of the informants partners sure to look at some pictures fearing he was next he asked Sergeant James Marr for protection it was a stone cold killer himself who became an informant that was so fearful of preacher enough being killed like his Partners had that he came to me that he came to us that he gave us information on specific crimes that he talked about crimes that had been unsolved for years investigators were frustrated that the informant knew nothing of twelve-year-old Donnell Porter's kidnapping and murder but he did give investigators their first specific Insider information about preacher heatley's organization mentioned a killing that the crew used as a meeting place and execution chamber at some meetings creature would call for a vote and the fate of gang members who had fallen out of favor killer if the majority voted thumbs down preacher ordered a murder in March 1994 preacher called for a vote on Malik the janitor who had done the drive-by shooting he believed Malik could no longer be trusted the vote was thumbs down [Music] could you summoned Malik to headquarters Malik thought he was there to take part in the beating of a crew member that he had had problems with in the past not realizing he was the real Target Malik was excited when others invited him to the basement if you went down there and you were followed in there you know somebody's behind you you weren't coming out alive oh man yo reach back come on Malik he had to die he was gaining too much influence within the organization preacher wouldn't tolerate [Music] Monique pleaded for his life but the order had been given at preacher's command other janitors used a circular saw to dismember me informants said that preacher ordered him and another crew member to dispose of the body parts this is the guy you work for right foreign acid on Malik's arms to remove gang tattoos that could link him to the crew then they left the body parts in several crumbling abandoned buildings they kept movik's head in a refrigerator for a couple of weeks and they kind of paraded around on a stick you know that's how preacher would you know keep the fear of uh fear of God so to speak in the uh in the younger younger Turks in his organization Georgia the fear was too much for the informant though he knew leaving the crew was equivalent to a death sentence he hoped the c-11 squad could protect it didn't take long for word to get back to the preacher that the informant had cooperated one day the informant was leaving a New York courthouse when he spotted preacher and cuff he was sure they were there to abduct and kill him he went to his car and called his c-11 handlers the informant advised me that his fear that he was going to be killed by the organization he was going to be abducted right in the middle of the afternoon in front of the courthouse the Agents of C11 rushed to stop another murder in the preacher's territory a former member of the preacher crew feared the gang was out to kill him for cooperating with authorities agents and detectives from the FBI c-11 Squad came to his Aid just in time they arrested Maine lieutenant John cuff and the crew leader himself Clarence preacher Heatley Sergeant James Mark and the other arresting agents searched the vehicle it was evidence inside including information about my informant masks tape it was Apparent at the time that my informants feelings were right he was going to be abducted that day come on man but no one could prove that the men were coming to kill the informant 20 minutes the preacher and cuff were released the incident brought the c-11 squad's investigation of the crew into the oak [Music] that's when it became apparent that they were being investigated by the FBI I mean here's this detective that they know from the 3-2 that when he does make an arrest makes arrests with FBI agents it became apparent to cough and preacher that the FBI was breathing down their neck preacher further insulated himself the FBI would have to get him by going after his organization to prosecute they would use federal racketeering statutes known as Rico sounds good originally designed to bring down organized crime families Rico requires that strict criteria are met according to FBI special agent Joe Walsh you have to have your organization you have to have your leader which in this case was preacher and he has to have five or more people working Underneath Him you know facilitate the conspiracy of the organization but you also need three predicate offenses three Federal offenses C11 investigators surveilled the preacher crew Gathering evidence on offenses to support the RICO case they noticed unrest within the Gang seemed the pressure of c11's Investigation was getting to the preacher from an informant agents learned he even ordered the murder of his main lieutenant John cuff agents were obligated to warn cuff of the hit I wish my she only goes I know who you are you don't have to show me a shirt I said you know John just wanted to let you know that there's a contract out in your life and I swear there's nothing but space when you look in his eyes and he goes everybody wants me dead was undaunted by the threat though the preacher was tightening his grip on his men investigators still needed to get evidence of the crimes the crew committed to support the racketeering organization as more buyers and sellers were arrested some agreed to corrupt helping to outline the group in detail according to detective villain Flynn we obtained the informants through uh narcotics investigations arrests made by the 3-2 Precinct and the 3-2 detective squad through information they developed and informants they developed because of arrest information was compiled which built a case against the preacher crew murders what murders do you know out unfortunately no one had information on the Donnell Porter murder one arrested crew member offered details of another murder committed by the crew hoping for leniency he said they decided they didn't want to pay for a shipment of drugs they told the supplier that a young woman had stolen them and that they would take care of him she was a single mother who sometimes worked as a courier for the crew there you go they brought her to a harlem apartment telling her they wanted her to hear a record they had produced she hadn't stolen any drugs that didn't matter to the crew the informant explained how they cleaned up the crime scene then dumped the body in an abandoned building he couldn't remember exactly which building it was [Music] 1996 after more than five years of meticulous investigation the U.S attorney's Office of the southern district of New York decided they had enough for indictments and arrests on federal recoil charges the first indictment was against Clarence preacher Heatley and John cuff indictment was kept sealed if word got out to the preacher he might disappear forever investigators staked out preachers Harlem headquarters they hope news of the indictments hadn't been leaked and that if they found him they could arrest him without a fight they knew preacher was surrounded by armed men willing to kill at his command in late 1996 the c-11 squad was ready to arrest Clarence preacher Heatley [Music] no one had seen him in days August 12th he emerged from his headquarters building detectives made sure he was alone then moved in the phone as he was arrested The elusive gang leader remained relaxed and confident as soon as he was in custody other teams arrested his main lieutenant John cuff two months later 15 more preacher crew members were indicted the rest teams prepared for simultaneous takedowns they had to strike fast full force to arrest gang members safely detective Vinnie Flynn and other c-11 investigators developed more cooperating Witnesses among the arrested crew members once people were arrested and being prosecuted they agreed to cooperate and they felt that they were used by the preacher crew and felt that if in some cases if they didn't participate they would have been killed too so this was their way out of the preacher crew and from under Clarence heatley's control to get his learned in which Harlem buildings the crew dumped some of their victims [Music] finding physical evidence was crucial in order to prosecute the Rigo case one building was a shell partially collapsed on the inside further complicating the retrieval the days of Excavating tons of rubble a body was discovered [Music] lab examiners determined it was the body of the young mother who had been killed as a cover for stolen drugs foreign she had been shot in an apartment in an adjacent building evidence response teams checked the apartment that's the department where they kept the Malik's head and in the refrigerator there was a lot of blood still left in the apartment and inside the refrigerator there was Malik's blood from when they when it kept his head they were able to trace that at the land Malik and several others had been killed in the basement of the preacher's headquarters crime scene technicians processed the basement arrested crew members said preacher had them scrubbed the place with boric acid after each killing most of the basement was clean but technicians were able to recover traces of Blood on the windows and on the saw blade that had been used to dismember Malik but the investigation was not over the abduction and murder of young Danelle Porter was still unsolved morning gentlemen answers about his death finally came from an unlikely source an assistant district attorney convinced the boys of the preacher crew member John to come into talk he was one of the crew's main players left on the street and had been labeled a snitch two attempts had been made on his life because you want to take business away Dio suggested that Porter cooperate to earn protection in prison he confessed to several murders and revealed what happened to his nephew Donnell according to Sergeant James Marr the kidnapping was prompted by jealousy and greed the underlying factor with Johnny Porter Johnny apples with the kidnapping was when he came home from prison Richie Porter his nephew was this big Harlem drug dealer he was getting paid Richard Porter used to wear a lot of gold used to really like flashy cars he was making a lot of money and he wasn't giving any to Johnny Porter and Johnny Porter felt he was owed this and he decided to take it and the way he was he took it is he snatched the kid Porter said the preacher agreed to the kidnapping he sent one of his janitors Malik to help they believed Richard Porter would pay any to get his brother back they kept the boy in a basement where no one would hear him what's up Sean cut off his finger and recorded the boy's pleas for help to prove to his family they were serious wholesale apple and preacher hoped for five hundred thousand dollars enough to set Apple up in his own drug trade and enough to [ __ ] Richard Porter what time was it when Richard couldn't come up with that amount of cash they lowered it to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars then the unexpected happened preacher and apple learned that Richard Porter was murdered there'd be no Ransom you sure about that Richard Heatley later told special agent Joe Walsh about his decision our preach sat right down in a room and uh and told me exactly what happened um you know uh he looked me right in the eye and said you know I couldn't let that boy live after uh after what had happened yeah John Porter insisted that it was Malik who actually did the kill but Malik was later killed and dismembered at the preacher's command John Porter was sentenced to Natural Life [Music] because of the evidence collected by the c-11 squad each member of the preacher crew went to prison [Music] their leader Clarence preacher Heatley pled guilty to Federal racketeering charges that included drug trafficking assault and murder he was sentenced to life with no chance of parole [Music] he and his crew will never again terrorize the streets of Harlem it's estimated that they're responsible for approximately 45 murders that we're aware of numerous robberies if you add the extortion in these people were a decade long or better crime wave in themselves they were they were just amazing the devastation that they caused in these communities that changed when the c-11 squad dismantled the preacher crew forever since the case was closed Harlem has seen a rebirth Harlem today the 32nd Precinct is running somewhere between 15 and 20 homicides a year down from the 70s down from 70 a year and late 80s during the crack cocaine binge I think we accomplished quite a bit with this drug disc case and drug organization doesn't exist anymore so you can't hurt anybody else

Channel: The FBI Files

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Keywords: FBI, FBI Files, FBI Documentary, Documentary, Crime, Crime Documentary, Crime Patrol, True Crime, True crime daily, Unsolved, Crime Stories, Crime Documentaries Full Episodes, Full Episode, unsolved true crime, fbi files full episodes, we got him, mystery, solved, investigation, police, criminal, prison, jail

Id: t0YQ_-AvXs8

Length: 100min 20sec (6020 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 25 2023