A 97-count indictment links a Queens, NY gang to 13 shootings, three murders, and years of terror across Queens neighborhoods in the largest gang takedown to date
In a historic “takedown,” a Queens, New York grand jury has indicted 32 members of the “Bad-Co” gang on murder, attempted murder and conspiracy charges, stemming from a violent four-year turf war in a southeast Queens neighborhood. The violent and bloody gang “war” left three people dead and terrorized communities near schools and parks, per NYC authorities. The details of the case are disturbing, with gang recruits as young as 15 years old participating in alleged attempted murders and shootings.
The 97-count indictment (yes, 97), accuses the gang of carrying out at least 13 shootings since 2021 in a bid to dominate territory against rivals, including the “Top Opp Mak Ballas, 5th Clocc and Blitz Gang 4.” The violence, often in broad daylight, poured onto residential areas, playgrounds and school grounds, endangering innocent bystanders, including children. The take-down was dubbed “Operation Shadyville,” as “Shadyville” or realistically Queens Village, is where the gang members were based.
NYC GANG TAKEDOWN: The Queens District Attorney’s Office announced the indictment of 32 reputed gang members in what is being billed as the largest single gang takedown in Queens history. The suspects, linked to the crew known as Bad‑Co Ballout, are charged in a 97-count…
— Lauren Conlin (@conlin_lauren) November 20, 2025
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called it the largest single gang takedown in her office’s history, with investigators also seizing 17 firearms during the probe. Six defendants face first-degree conspiracy charges, which could carry life sentences if convicted.
“This gang has operated as a ruthless enterprise in Queens for the past four years and is now considered the most violent in the borough,” Katz said in a statement. “They terrorized rivals and harmed innocent bystanders to maintain and expand their geographic dominance. 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 alleged ringleader, Jahvon “Shady” Attapoku, 21, is accused of storing and distributing loaded firearms from his Queens home, dubbed “Shadyville,” and directing members to target their rivals. Other defendants include Sean “Broad Day” Chang, 20; Jeff “Havoc” Joseph, 19; and Emeka “BT” Onondu, 18. Several defendants are teenagers, with four identified only as 17-year-olds, four as 16-year-olds and one as a 15-year-old in court documents.
Prosecutors detailed a string of brazen and terrifying attacks, including:
-On November 10, 2022, Attapoku and four others robbed 18-year-old Mark Greene of his gun outside his high school in Kew Gardens Hills. Joseph then fired multiple shots, killing Greene around 3 p.m.
-In a June 7, 2022, shooting near a St. Albans home, Attapoku, Mekhi “Scarfaxe” Hooi and Elijah “Eli” Lawrence fired 23 rounds at a rival, with one bullet striking a 15-year-old girl inside the residence in the leg.
-On September 16, 2024, a then-15-year-old defendant fired at a rival across a St. Albans intersection, catching 66-year-old motorist William Alcindor in the crossfire. Alcindor lost control of his car, struck and seriously injured a woman on the sidewalk, and later died.
-Most recently, on January 27, 2025, a 17-year-old shot and killed Ikechukwu Onondu in the vestibule of a Queens Village apartment building. And on Sept. 5, 2025, a 16-year-old fired at rivals behind a Fresh Meadows commercial building.
The third homicide was not detailed in the indictment summary. NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch praised the joint investigation by Katz’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau and the department’s Gang Division, crediting “targeted enforcement and precision policing” for halting the bloodshed. “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,” Tisch said. “They wanted credit for the shootings they carried out, and today, we’re happy to give it to them. … Queens is significantly safer today.”
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Eighteen defendants were arraigned on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. Six others are in custody on unrelated matters and will be arraigned later. Three remain at large: Jasiah “Siah” Defritas, Jeremiah “MJ” Michel and Nasir “NAS” Scruggs.