Three Baltimore men charged with killing Queens weed dealer and leaving her body in U-Haul in Bayside: Feds – QNS

A federal grand jury in Brooklyn has indicted three Maryland men for their alleged roles in the kidnapping, robbery and fatal shooting of a Bayside marijuana dealer in July.

Two of the defendants, Jerome Waters, 23, known on the street as “the Engineer,” and Calvin Israel, 23, were arrested Wednesday in Baltimore and will be arraigned at a later date in the Eastern District of New York. William Barnett, 27, remains at large.

As alleged in court documents, the three defendants are members of a Baltimore-based violent robbery group that conspired to commit an armed robbery and kidnapping of marijuana dealers in Queens. On the night of July 24-25, the trio drove from Baltimore to Queens to kidnap and rob drug dealer Julian Mejias and a second unnamed dealer at gunpoint.

Once in New York, Waters and Barnett met with the two dealers at a warehouse in Queens under the guise of buying marijuana. Moments later, Waters and Barnett pulled out handguns and held them up to the dealers. Next, they invited their co-conspirators to the hideout to assist in the robbery and kidnapping. Both dealers were tied up with zip ties and forced at gunpoint into the back of a Jeep and a U-Haul truck while the defendants stole approximately 30 pounds of marijuana from the warehouse.

The trio drove the still-tied dealers through Queens at gunpoint, demanding drugs and money. Israel was driving the U-Haul carrying Mejias, who was shot multiple times in the head. When his body was found by first responders in the van on 208th Street near 32nd Drive in Bayside, the dealer still had a zip tie tied around one of his hands and his body was surrounded by bags of marijuana. After the fatal shooting, the trio fled back to Maryland.

“As alleged, the defendants’ premeditated robberies and kidnappings resulting in a violent death demonstrate the significant gun and drug threat in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “This office continues to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold these drivers of violent crime accountable and eliminate their ability to wreak havoc.”

If convicted, Waters, Israel and Barnett each face life in prison.

“These arrests are another example of how the police and their federal partners are relentlessly fighting crews that monetize drugs and brutality,” said NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon. “I commend our NYPD detectives and all of our law enforcement colleagues for their unwavering commitment to ending this barbaric, senseless violence in our communities and for their tireless work to hold all those responsible accountable.”