Goonies street gang members plead guilty to murder of innocent 13-year-old girl in mount vernon

MOUNT VERNON, NJ – Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DAVID HARDY, a/k/a “Mooka,” MARQUIS COLLIER, JERMAINE HUGHLEY, a/k/a “Blacks,” and SINCERE SAVOY, a/k/a “Bitty,” pled guilty to participating in the murder of Shamoya McKenzie, a 13-year-old innocent bystander. HARDY pled guilty today, COLLIER pled guilty on August 14, 2020, HUGHLEY pled guilty on September 10, 2020, and SAVOY pled guilty on September 1, 2020. All four defendants will be sentenced by United States District Judge Nelson S. Román, to whom the case is assigned.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “On December 31, 2016, David Hardy, Marquis Collier, Jermaine Hughley, and Sincere Savoy shot at a rival gang member, injuring him and killing 13-year-old Shamoya McKenzie, cutting short her young and promising life. Now all four of them face significant time in prison for their participation in senseless gun violence.”

According to allegations in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

Between 2007 and 2017, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, HARDY, COLLIER, HUGHLEY, and SAVOY were members of a racketeering enterprise known as the “Goonies.” In order to fund the enterprise, protect and expand its interests, and promote its standing, members and associates of the Goonies committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery; they conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute narcotics; and they obtained, possessed, and used firearms, including by brandishing and firing them.

The Goonies have been engaged in a long-standing and violent feud with several rival Mount Vernon street gangs, including, among others, the “Boss Playa Family,” the “Get Money Gangstas,” the “Gunnas,” and the “Much Better Gang,” among others. On December 31, 2016, HARDY, COLLIER, HUGHLEY, and SAVOY attempted to murder a rival gang member in broad daylight by firing multiple shots at him in the vicinity of Tecumseh Avenue and Third Street in Mount Vernon, New York. The rival gang member suffered gunshot wounds but survived. One of the bullets, however, missed the intended target and struck in the head and killed 13-year-old Shamoya McKenzie, who was in the front passenger seat of a car that happened to be driving past the shooting location.

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HARDY, 25, pled guilty to one count of using a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering and one count of using a firearm in connection with an assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering for committing a separate shooting in furtherance of the Goonies. Together, the crimes carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

COLLIER, 28, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering. Together, the crimes carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

HUGHLEY, 27, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering. Together, the crimes carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

SAVOY, 23, pled guilty to one count of using a firearm in connection with the murder of Shamoya McKenzie in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Ms. Strauss thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives from the FBI, Yonkers Police Department, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Westchester County Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, New York City Police Department, and U.S. Probation.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Anden Chow and Sarah Krissoff are in charge of the prosecution.

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