Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced arrests of 12 alleged members of a drug network run by a local set of the Crips street gang that was trafficking large amounts of heroin and crack cocaine in a section of Paterson, N.J., that has been plagued by gun violence.
According to the Attorney Generals office, beginning last Thursday, October 15, the Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police Department arrested alleged leaders, members, and associates of the “42-50” set of the Crips who allegedly were trafficking heroin and crack cocaine in open-air drug markets in the area of Godwin Avenue and Auburn Street.
The set is named for the address of a building on Auburn Street where they operated. The gang allegedly possesses guns, and the neighborhood has been a hot spot for shootings involving rival gangs, including shootings targeting members of the 42-50 set.
During the investigation, authorities seized over 21,000 single-dose wax folds of heroin – some of which also contained fentanyl – and more than a kilo of crack cocaine.
Officials report that the gang is believed to have been distributing approximately 50,000 doses of heroin and a kilo of crack cocaine per week.
When search warrants were executed last week, investigators uncovered a heroin mill inside a building in the first block of North York Street where the gang cut and packaged heroin for sale, as well as a crack cocaine mill inside an apartment in the 300 block of Summer Street.
Heroin seized by detectives and sold by the drug ring was packaged in wax folds stamped with the same brand names that have been linked to eight fatal and 14 non-fatal overdoses in the state.
The following two alleged top members of the 42-50 Crips set were charged with promoting organized street crime, a first-degree charge that carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years in state prison:
- Marvin Goodwin, 29, of Paterson, allegedly ran the drug set and was its main drug supplier. He suffered non-fatal injuries in a drive-by shooting on August 6, in the area of Hamilton Avenue and Auburn Street. Another 42-50 gang member was struck and wounded by gunfire in a shooting last week at Godwin Avenue and Auburn Street.
- Terike Gass, 40, of Paterson, allegedly is Goodwin’s closest associate and assists Goodwin in managing the drug set.
Goodwin, Gass and five other defendants are charged with first-degree racketeering. Gass – and three men who were arrested inside the crack cocaine mill on Summer Street – face first-degree charges of maintaining or operating a drug production facility and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
When detectives approached the mill on Summer Street to execute the search warrant, defendants allegedly began throwing crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia out of the apartment’s windows.
“Through collaborative investigations such as Operation 42-50, we are targeting the drug traffickers who profit from the deadly opioid epidemic and bring violence to the neighborhoods of our cities,” Attorney General Grewal said. "We will continue to work closely with the Paterson Police Department to eliminate these criminal organizations that are destroying so many lives.”
“As a result of this operation, we charged the two alleged top members of this gang with first-degree promoting organized street crime, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in state prison,” Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice said. “We charged those men and nine other defendants with various other first-degree charges carrying a sentence of up to 20 years.”
During the course of the investigation, detectives made undercover purchases of 10 “bricks” of heroin. Each brick contains 50 single-dose wax folds of heroin.
They also seized 108 bricks of heroin and over 200 grams of crack cocaine during the execution of search warrants in September. Together those purchases and seizures totaled approximately 5,900 doses of heroin.
When arrests were made and search warrants were executed last Thursday, October 15, investigators seized approximately 15,300 single-dose wax folds of heroin packaged in bricks and 10-dose “bundles.” They also seized more than 800 grams of crack cocaine and approximately $110,000 in U.S. currency.
“In the midst of the COVID pandemic, there is still an opioid crisis and we are still doing all that we can to help those suffering from addiction,” Attorney General Grewal said. “Meanwhile, drug dealers are continuing their corrosive commerce, despite the pandemic, bringing death and destruction to our communities. We are determined to bring these ruthless profiteers to justice.”
The following 12 defendants were charged by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police Department in Operation 42-50:
- Marvin Goodwin, 29, of Paterson
- Terike Gass, 40, of Paterson
- Eric Pena, 28, of Paterson
- Javon Cook, 28, Paterson
- Christopher Younger, 19, Paterson
- Steven Godbolt, 48, Paterson
- Kenneth McKinney, 21, of Paterson
- Andre Anderson, 36, of Paterson
- Anthony Hinton, 54, of Paterson
- Andre White, 43, of Paterson
- Shohamaree Brown, 36, of East Orange
- Brian Johnson, 37, of Paterson
Anderson was ordered detained following a detention hearing yesterday. Goodwin, Gass, White, Hinton, and Pena are awaiting detention hearings. The other defendants were released subject to monitoring conditions.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.