Seven alleged members of the Betances Gang, have been charged in four indictments for conspiring to murder and assault rival gang members and possessing firearm sfor incidents spanning the past three years.
According to the joint investigation by the District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division, members and associates of Betances conspired to acquire firearms in order to protect the areas in and around the Betances Houses, which they considered to be their turf.
“These alleged gang members fired guns on the streets of the south Bronx, bringing fear to residents during a long period of violence,” District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “In one incident, the defendants severely wounded a young man. The shootings were retaliatory and with these charges we believe we ended a cycle of gunfire.”
Members of this organization often used coded language to discuss and boast about their criminal activities in telephone conversations and on social media.
According to the indictments, on March 15, 2019, alleged Betances Gang members Derek Centeno, Jeremy Delgado and Jhustin Martinez, fired multiple times at a member of the Patterson YGzGang, nearly striking him, behind a building at 880 Garrison Avenue. The shooting was allegedly planned in retaliation for a previous shooting committed against one of their own.
According to the indictments, on March 21, 2019, alleged Betances members Michael Columna and Martinez, fired multiple times at a Patterson YGz member, striking the victim in the head and causing life–altering injuries. This shooting also was in retaliation for a shooting committed against a Betances member.
According to the investigation,on Jan. 27, 2019, Adam Delarosa, Martinez and other Betances associates, robbed and assaulted a young woman on a subway platform in the Bronx. On March 18, 2020, alleged Betances members Raymond Corchado, Adam Delarosa and others, acting together, shot at rival gang members at the Mitchell Houses in the Bronx. A .380 caliber firearm was recovered.
On Jan. 7, alleged Betances associate Joshua Sampson discharged a firearm on the corner of East 149th Street and Exterior Street. Officers recovered a 9–mm semi–automatic pistol after Sampson fled from the police and discarded the gun down the garbage chute of a nearby building.
Martinez allegedly committed violent attacks while being held at Horizon Juvenile Facility. He allegedly assaulted another detainee, causing the victim to suffer a concussion and a fracture to the face, and allegedly assaulted an officer, causing him bruising and swelling.
Columna, 20, of the Bronx, was arraigned and remanded. Martinez, 18, of the Bronx,was arraigned on June 14, and remanded. Jeremy Delgado, 18, of the Bronx, was arraigned on May 25 and Raymond Corchado, 18, Adam Delarosa, 19 and Joshua Sampson, 17, all of the Bronx, were indicted and arraigned previously.Defendant Derek Centeno, 17,of the Bronx has not been apprehended.
