SYRACUSE -- A Syracuse man pleaded guilty to being part of a gang that terrorized part of the city.
25-year-old Amadis Hunter admitted his guilt in U.S. District Court. 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 multiple acts of murder, drug trafficking, and robbery. Ten other defendants have already pled guilty, and the charges against three others remain pending.
As part of his plea, Hunter admitted that the Bricktown Gang has operated within Syracuse from at least 2000 through the present. He admits members of the Bricktown Gang maintain a specific geographic territory within the City of Syracuse in which only gang members can sell crack cocaine, cocaine and marijuana, protected that exclusive crack distribution territory with violence if necessary, obtained drugs from suppliers in New York City and elsewhere and projected a very violent attitude and respond to violence with violence in order to preserve their stature in the gang community. On occasion, they used hand signs, wore blue colored bandanas and have tattoos, all of which are intended to signify their gang membership. Hunter also admits they use criteria such as willingness to use violence, ability to sell drugs, and familial connections to determine membership, and routinely carry and use firearms in connection with their gang activity.
Hunter faces up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release.
