Earlier today, Abdoul Azika and Jaquell Blackwell were arrested in connection with a complaint charging them with armed carjacking.  The defendants were arraigned this afternoon at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn before United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl on the complaint and ordered detained.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the charges.

“For more than a year, Azika and Blackwell terrorized and traumatized innocent members of our community through a pattern of violent, armed carjackings,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “My Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to work diligently to protect our communities from such violence.”

Mr. Peace thanked the Garden City Police Department, the Nassau County Police Department and the New York City Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

“Abdoul Azika and Jaquell Blackwell, two Blood Hounds Brims gang members, allegedly demonstrated a pattern of violence and intimidation by forcing residents to surrender their vehicles at weapon-point. This alleged series of armed robberies incites fear and jeopardizes public safety. The FBI will continue to apprehend gang members who utilize violence to embolden their criminal activities and terrorize our communities,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy.

As alleged in court filings, Azika and Blackwell were members of the violent “5zzly” crew of the Bronx-based Blood Hounds Brims gang that has engaged in a string of armed carjackings and robberies across New York City and Long Island.  One such incident, as charged in the complaint, took place in the early morning hours of March 19, 2023, when Azika and Blackwell snuck up on and opened the doors of a vehicle parked in a residential neighborhood in Garden City, pointed a knife and a gun at the driver’s face, and told him to “get the f*** out of the car,” before driving off with the vehicle.

The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment.

Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca M. Schuman and Kamil R. Ammari are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Rachel Friedman.