A Syracuse man pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Bricktown Gang and now faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.
26-year-old Darnell Williams admitted his guilt in federal court this morning. He and 13 others were charged with conspiring to exploit their membership in the Bricktown Gang to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity which included murders, drug trafficking and robbery.
Three others have already pleaded guilty in the case, and the charges against 9 others are still pending.
Federal prosecutors say the gang has been operating in Syracuse since at least 2000. They say the gang members are behind two murders, 8 other shootings, 7 acts of gun possession, 2 instances of knife violence and 12 acts of crack distribution and/or possession with intent to distribute crack.
Prosecutors say they are also behind a major gang assault that happened at the Denny's restaurant on Erie Boulevard in Dewitt last January.
The indictment includes allegations that gang members killed innocent victims on two separate occasions as gang members sought retaliation against rival gang members. One case involves the senseless murder of 20-month-old Rashad Walker Jr. He was shot and killed along the 300 block of Coolidge Avenue. The little boy was sitting in his car seat with his mother by his side when his life ended tragically. 21-year-old Saquan Evans is charged with Walker Jr.'s murder.
The other murder happened in September of 2007. Prosecutors say Bricktown Gang members Jarrell Williams and Ernest Hester killed Anthony Ford along the 1600 block of East Fayette Street. A woman who was with him was shot in the head but survived.
Williams faces up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release when he's sentenced.
