Nassau County men convicted in deadly gangland crime spree

Two Long Island men could spend the rest of their lives in prison after a federal jury in Central Islip convicted both Thursday for a range of crimes, including the drive-by killing of a bystander in Hempstead and a shooting in Rockville Centre that left a man mistaken for a rival gang member paralyzed.

Among other crimes, the jury found Akeem Chambers, 24, of Uniondale, guilty of taking part in 11 shootings and three homicides over a three-year period, Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news release. The charges against co-defendant Jonathan Vazquez, 24, of Hempstead, included the 2022 attempted murder of two Nassau County police officers.

Jerell Shaw, 34, of Millstone Township, New Jersey, was also named in the 52-count indictment and convicted of murder and other charges.

The three men were also convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy for their roles in a pair of Crips sects, one on Long Island and another in Brooklyn, according to Nocella.

"In connection with the racketeering charges, they were also found guilty of participating in multiple acts of violence committed on behalf of the Crips, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and kidnapping," the release said.

Chambers and Vazquez are connected to a string of shootings in Nassau County, according to Nocella. Chambers took part in the Aug. 1, 2020 drive-by shooting at a Hempstead house party house party attended by members of a rival gang. A bystander, Thiasia Williams, 28, of Amityville was shot. She was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead, Newsday previously reported.

Chambers shot and paralyzed a man on Jan. 3, 2021 in Rockville Centre who he wrongly believed was a member of a rival gang, the release said. Alongside other gang members, he took part in the Sept. 10, 2021 robbery and fatal shooting in Freeport of James Diamond, 28, of Long Beach.

Vazquez provided the gun used in the Nov. 19, 2016 fatal shooting of Joecephus Vanable, 19, in Hempstead, Nocella said. On March 1, 2022, while in a vehicle that matched the description of one used in a robbery, he shot at a Nassau County police vehicle after officers tried to pull him over. Neither of the two officers were injured.

The two men took part in four shootings together in 2021 and 2022, for which they were convicted of the attempted murder or assault of rival gang members, the release said.

Chambers, Vazquez and Shaw were all found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for using stolen identities to submit phony unemployment insurance claims in multiple states, Nocella said. Shaw, who alone stole $2 million from the California state government, laundered funds through a business account and used some of the proceeds to get a mortgage for a $1.2 million New Jersey home.

District Court Judge Joan Azrack did not set a sentencing date for the three men, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, told Newsday via email late Thursday.

Defense attorneys representing Chambers and Vazquez did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Xavier Donaldson, the defense attorney representing Shaw, declined to comment.