Bounty Hunter Bloods gang terrorized NJ towns with murders, drugs, prosecutors say
NEW BRUNSWICK — Seven accused gang members are charged in a racketeering conspiracy case that includes four murders, five shootings, heroin distribution, and a fraud scheme to obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans.
According to federal prosecutors, the Bounty Hunter Bloods carried out their many crimes in Middlesex and Somerset counties from June 2020 to this past January. An indictment charged each of the seven men with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Isiah Daniels, 33, and Kimani Wanyoike, 21, are already in custody on related charges. Joel Lyons, 21, and Armando Ortiz, 24, are both in state prison serving sentences on firearms and drug offenses respectively. Walter Boyd, 34, Gede Maccelus, 21, and Malik Stringer, 24, were more recently taken into custody on the charges in the indictment.
Lyons and Daniels are accused of being involved in a Sept. 13, 2020 shooting in New Brunswick that left two men dead and seven people injured. The New York Times reported that home security footage showed four men get out of a car and open fire in an encounter that lasted less than a minute.
Prosecutors also connected Boyd, also known as "Walt Daddy," to a shooting outside Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick on Jun. 18, 2021, saying he was part of a group visiting a fellow gang member who had been shot just hours earlier. The group noticed a rival gang member's car and started shooting, leaving one dead and another injured, according to the indictment.
The indictment lists three other shootings in New Brunswick. It states that including the victims mentioned above, the Bounty Hunter Bloods members collectively killed four people and injured 13 others.
Along with shootings, prosecutors say the men carried out several bank and wire fraud schemes. Boyd's text messages showed that he informed someone else on how to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans, the indictment said.
Several of the members are also accused of distributing drugs including heroin throughout the gang's turf in New Brunswick and Somerset County.
The Bounty Hunter Bloods Enterprise is a gang that originated in Los Angeles and now operates in several states including New Jersey, according to the indictment. They have a footing in Somerset, Middlesex, Passaic, and Mercer counties.
Prosecutors said that the accused members operated "under the umbrella" of the enterprise but were locally known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in New Brunswick.