Shawntell Rush Was A Long Time Gang Member Who Often Possessed Handguns In Connection With His Gang Activity
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK -
RICHARD S. HARTUNIAN, United States Attorney, Northern District of New York, announces that SHAWNTELL RUSH, age 29, of Syracuse, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Syracuse to 140 months imprisonment for his role in conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity through his membership in the Bricktown Gang, a violent street gang operating on the streets of Syracuse.
As part of his plea, RUSH admitted that the Bricktown Gang operated within the City of Syracuse from at least 2000 through the present and that members of the Bricktown Gang: (1) maintain a specific geographic territory within the City of Syracuse in which only gang members can sell crack cocaine, cocaine and marijuana; (2) protect that exclusive crack distribution territory with violence if necessary; (3) obtain drugs from suppliers in New York City and elsewhere; (4) project a very violent attitude and respond to violence with violence in order to preserve their stature in the gang community; (5) on occasion use hand signs, wear blue colored bandanas and have tattoos, all of which are intended to signify their gang membership; (6) use criteria such as willingness to use violence, ability to sell drugs, and familial connections to determine membership; and (7) routinely carry and use firearms in connection with their gang activity.
RUSH also admitted to a robbery and multiple acts of gun possession as part of his gang activity.
This prosecution resulted from a long-term investigation conducted by the Syracuse Gang Violence Task Force, which is comprised of agents and detectives from the following agencies: the Syracuse Police Department, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, the New York State Troopers, the United States Marshals Service and the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (Syracuse Office). The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
Further questions or inquiries may be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney, John M. Katko, who is handling the case, at (315) 448-0672.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
