18 members of Riverhead’s '48 Gang' indicted in major Suffolk crackdown
A 57 count indictment includes two murders, multiple shootings, armed robberies, and illegal weapons charges spanning 2021 to 2025.
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Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the indictment of 18 alleged members and associates of the Riverhead‑based '48 Gang' following a multi‑year investigation involving local, county, and federal law enforcement.
Prosecutors say the group is responsible for two murders, five shootings, eight armed robberies, and the possession of 13 illegal firearms tied to violent crimes throughout Suffolk County.
According to investigators, the gang operated around several Riverhead neighborhoods and allegedly used illegal gun sales, robberies, narcotics distribution, and financial fraud to fund their activities.
"We not only charged the shooters but we charged those who ordered the violence, those who fund the violence, those who acquire the weapons and those who attempt to cover up," says Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney. "If you're committing gang and gun violence in Suffolk County, we are coming after you."
The indictment links members to the 2021 murder of 18‑year‑old Marcel Arrington in Mastic Beach along with the 2023 fatal shooting of James Ayers on Main Street in Riverhead. They were also linked with a 2021 shooting into an occupied Aquebogue home, gunfire aimed at rival gang members in Bellport in 2022, and several armed robberies, including two 7‑Eleven holdups in 2023 and a violent deli robbery in Flanders in 2024.
Prosecutors released new video on Friday of the armed robberies in North Bellmore, Central Islip and Flanders.
At the 711 in Central Islip on Calebs Path, an employee says it was his friend behind the counter that night in 2023.
"He said he couldn't do anything, there were three people and they had guns on them and he was just really scared," says employee Johan Euceda. "I was uneasy, you know, what if I get robbed."
Investigators say less than an hour after that armed robbery, they did the same thing at a 711 in North Bellmore.
One defendant, Kyren Braunskill, currently a detective with the Mount Vernon Police Department, is accused of conspiring with gang members to traffic illegal firearms while working in law enforcement. The defendants face charges ranging from murder and attempted murder to robbery, conspiracy, weapons possession, and narcotics offenses.
"We allege that in the years prior to him becoming a police officer, braunskil was actively selling, sharing and coordinating possession of weapons with high-ranking gang members," says Tierney.
Many are already in custody and are being arraigned in Suffolk County Court.
