Riverhead '48 Gang' supplied guns to other Long Island gangs, committed 2 murders, Suffolk DA says

A Mount Vernon police detective was among 18 people charged Friday in a 57-count Riverhead gang indictment tied to gun trafficking, armed robberies and two unsolved homicides, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the indictment targeted the "48 Gang," known for running a territory in Riverhead along Oakland Street, with criminal activity that pervaded the River Pointe and Doctors Path apartment complexes on Main Street.

The gang activity was tied to a 2021 killing of 18-year-old Marcel Arrington in Mastic Beach and the 2023 killing of James Ayers, 47, of Mastic, in Riverhead, prosecutors said.

"These gangs were committing violence in their hometowns in Suffolk County, and they were committing this violence as a way of establishing dominance, enhancing their own reputations and to hold sway over specific geographic areas in Suffolk County," Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Prosecutors said the indictment led to charges in two previous unsolved killings.

Eight of the defendants in the indictment were charged with long-term conspiracy to commit murder, prosecutors said. 

Justin Dicks and Jacob Moore, both 24, of Riverhead, are charged with second-degree murder in Arrington's killing. Prosecutors said they arranged to meet Arrington Oct. 26, 2021, to buy marijuana. They robbed him and Dicks is accused of shooting him in the chest before driving away with Moore.

Moore has pleaded not guilty, said his attorney, Matt Tuohy, who added in a message that he is reviewing the evidence in the case. Dicks is set to be arraigned April 2. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

A grand jury also indicted another Riverhead man, Nickomas Allen, 38, who was charged with second-degree murder for the Jan. 6, 2023, killing of James Ayers, who was shot in the head after the two got into a fight, Tierney said.

Allen is in federal custody in Pennsylvania awaiting extradition. He did not have an attorney listed. 

Also included in the indictment was now-suspended Mount Vernon Police Det. Kyren Braunskill, who was accused of trafficking guns from a firearms dealer in North Carolina and then selling them to gang members on Long Island.

The gang was accused of using those weapons to commit 15 separate acts of violence, including seven shootings and eight armed robberies.

Braunskill pleaded not guilty Thursday in Suffolk County Court to an indictment charging him with conspiracy, grand larceny and check forgery. He was released with an ankle monitor because the charges were not bail eligible, according to the court.

His defense attorney could not be reached for comment, but noted in court that Braunskill had no prior criminal record. 

Braunskill is a former NYPD 911 dispatcher who was charged with supplying guns from 2021 to December 2022 when he was sworn in as a police officer.

He was previously named police officer of the month by the department and promoted last week to detective.

Prosecutors said Braunskill conspired with multiple alleged gang members to sell firearms trafficked from a dealer in North Carolina. He is also charged with soliciting the assistance of a high-ranking gang member to commit a shooting on his behalf, Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Collado said in court Thursday.

Braunskill would purchase guns from the dealer and resell the guns at the River Point apartments, Collado said. He said Braunskill had an extensive relationship with a high-ranking Bloodhound Brims and Riverhead gang member.

"By way of this indictment, this defendant is charged with attempting to line his pockets with money from gang members in exchange for firearms while he was affiliated with the NYPD," Collado said in court Thursday. "What's even worse is not knowing how many other crimes were committed."

Prosecutors seized 13 illegal weapons as part of the indictment. A firearms dealer in North Carolina accused of supplying guns to Braunskill was not part of the indictment. 

The gang is also charged with a series of armed robberies spanning from Flanders, where a deli worker was pistol whipped, to convenience stores in Central Islip.