By: Richard L. Smith
Two senior members of a violent drug trafficking organization that operated out of the Stephen Crane Village housing complex have been sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms, bringing the high-profile case to a close, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced that on January 13 and January 14, 2026, the final two defendants in the case received sentences of 211 months and 540 months in prison for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that terrorized the Stephen Crane Village community.
Following a three-week jury trial in January 2025 before U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals in federal court in Newark, Michael Mayse, 39, and Gary Shahid, 67, both of Newark, were found guilty of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and related firearms offenses.
Mayse was also convicted of murder connected to the drug trafficking operation.
“These sentences hold accountable two senior members of a violent drug trafficking organization that ruled Stephen Crane Village through fear, violence, and murder,” Lamparello said in the statement.
He added that the sentences deliver justice for the family of a young man who was killed and reinforce the federal government’s commitment to aggressively targeting violent crime across New Jersey.
Court records and trial evidence showed that the drug trafficking organization controlled an open-air drug market at Stephen Crane Village, a public housing complex located near Branch Brook Park along the border of Newark and Belleville.
The organization operated from at least February 2019 through February 2020, distributing heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base.
Investigators relied on controlled drug buys, recorded phone calls and text messages, physical and electronic surveillance, and phone record analysis to dismantle the operation.
Evidence showed the group used a stash apartment to store and package narcotics and sold significant quantities of drugs to confidential informants and an undercover agent.
Federal prosecutors said that in the early morning hours of December 15, 2019, Mayse entered the stash apartment and fatally shot a 21-year-old member of the organization during a dispute over a drug debt.
On January 13, 2026, Shahid was sentenced to a total of 211 months in prison, which includes concurrent sentences for drug trafficking offenses and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, along with a consecutive sentence for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The following day, Mayse was sentenced to a cumulative 540 months in federal prison.
His sentence includes time for the drug trafficking conspiracy and murder, along with additional concurrent and consecutive sentences tied to multiple firearms and drug distribution convictions.
Ten other defendants connected to the organization — Jose Lora, Dayquan Jordan, Ricky Terrell, Charles Mells, Raquan Rawls, Nasir Williams, Quadir Hatcher, Tyree Purkett, James Wicker, and Dayana Valderrama — previously pleaded guilty in federal court for their roles in the conspiracy.
Federal officials said the case underscores continued efforts to dismantle violent drug organizations and restore safety to communities impacted by narcotics trafficking and gun violence.