Crime
Seven Manatee gang members charged with six murders, other crimes
Seven men who prosecutors said sold cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin on the streets of Manatee County have been charged with six murders — including three on New Year's Day 2016 that until now had stymied investigators.
U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced the bust after a federal district judge Thursday unsealed a 12-count indictment detailing a litany of charges against members of what the prosecutors called a drug-dealing "criminal organization." If convicted, each suspect could be sentenced to up to life in federal prison.
"This has been a lot of hard work and a lot of blood, sweat and tears by my people and the people at the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Sheriff Rick Wells, whose agency investigated the case with the Bureau of Alcohol of Tobacco and the Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. "I'm very proud of our detectives and very happy to have this relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office because we are accomplishing what we set to do, which is put them away and get them out of our community."
Those indicted are:
▪ Jordan "Big Man" Rodriguez, 24, who the indictment identified as the leader of the gang.
▪ Andrew "Nico" Thompson, 23
▪ Alfonzo "Boo Boo" Churchwell, 31
▪ Juan "Manco" Ortiz, 24
▪ Raymy Escoto, 23
▪ Phillip Uscanga, 24
▪ Jesse Rodriguez, 20
The charges detailed in the indictment include racketeering conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, arson, robbery and drug trafficking.
All seven men are currently in custody.
Three of the six homicides included in the indictment happened on Jan. 1, 2016. Until now, those three slayings were the only ones that happened that year to remain unsolved until now.
On Jan. 1, 2016, Demetrius Robinson, 37, and Florence Randall, 31, were found shot to death in the home the couple shared in the 5700 block of 11th Street East in Bradenton. While it was clear that the couple was targeted, for months the community remained silent and detectives could not get a single lead in the case.
Thompson had been given a gun by Jordan Rodriguez to intimidate and threaten Robinson, and instead he shot the couple dead when he tried to intimidate, threaten and rob Robinson, according to the indictment.
Hours later deputies were called to the scene of another shooting.
Between 12:45 p.m. and 1 p.m., Julio Telez was killed in a drive-by shooting in the 500 block of 60th Avenue Terrace West in Bradenton that also left one other person injured.
The indictment charges that Jordan Rodriguez, Ortiz, Escoto and Uscanga killed Tellez. Escoto and Uscanga later burned a Ford Mustang in an effort to cover up the shooting.
The next slaying attributed to the gang, according to indictment, happened on Sept. 11 2016, when 44-year-old Earnestine Gardner was shot to death in front of a house in the 5800 block of 11th Street East in Bradenton.
The indictment charges Churchwell, 31, killed Gardner.
After the slaying, witnesses told Manatee County detectives that Gardner and Churchwell were arguing over money after Churchwell sold cocaine to Gardner. The witnesses said they heard four or five shots.
The state attorney's office initially charged Churchwell with second-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The case was later dropped by the state as it became a part of the federal investigation.
The final two slayings happened on Jan. 13, 2017, when Lashawna Stevenson-Weeks, 27, and Barry “B1” Joseph, 32, were shot to death in the 5200 block of 15th Street Court East.
A witness identified Thompson as the shooter and he was arrested within a week of the slayings. Homicide detectives said they have been told early on that Thompson had been Joseph's cocaine dealer.
A state grand jury later indicted Thompson on two counts of first-degree murder, charges that remain pending.
Thursday's announcement fulfilled an on-going promise Wells, his office and the U.S. Attorney's Office have made to the community to target violent gangs of drug traffickers.
In January 2017, six members of another gang were sent to federal prison for life after terrorizing Manatee County for years with murders, drug dealing and other crimes.
More than 150 witnesses testified against Nathaniel “Popo” Harris, Deonte “Tang” Martin, Napoleon “Pole” Harris, Jerry “Jerk” Green, Charlie “Mr. 30N32” Green and Corey “James” Harris. helping to seal their fate.
As a result Wells, the sheriff's office, ATF and U.S. Attorney's Office vowed to keep up the pressure on drug-dealing gangs in the county.
Thursday's indictment was proof of that.
"This is going to be the norm, when we have these groups that are dealing drugs and committing murders," Wells said.
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