59 Brims Indictment: 129-Count Brooklyn RICO and Conspiracy Case

The 59 Brims indictment refers to a pair of overlapping prosecutions against the 59 Brims, a violent set of the Bloods, and its Bloodhound Brims affiliates. The federal side is finished: all 22 defendants in the Southern District of New York case were convicted, and the group’s alleged leader was sentenced to 20 years. The state side is just beginning. In February 2025, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced a 129-count indictment charging 14 more alleged members with a murder, 19 shootings, and a conspiracy to kill rival gang members across South Brooklyn.¹

The Federal Prosecutions and Sentences

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York brought the largest federal case. Willie Evans, described by prosecutors as the “godfather” of the 59 Brims, was convicted of racketeering offenses and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. He was the last of 22 defendants in that case to be sentenced for shootings, robberies, assaults, and drug trafficking. High-ranking members received terms ranging from seven to twenty years.²

A separate federal case out of the Eastern District of New York charged 11 members of the Brooklyn-based 59 Brims with racketeering conspiracy, murder, and other violent crimes. Court filings described the 59 Brims as operating across Brooklyn and Queens.³

Across both federal cases, the alleged predicate acts included murder and attempted murder, trafficking in heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and marijuana, and financial fraud schemes such as identity theft and credit card fraud used to generate revenue for the organization.

The 129-Count Brooklyn Indictment

The February 2025 state indictment came out of a long-term investigation by the DA’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau and the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division. The 14 defendants range in age from 15 to 30. Two were juveniles at the time of the alleged offenses. All were arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court on charges that include second-degree murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, and weapons possession.¹

The indictment covers 19 separate shooting incidents in South Brooklyn that left nine people injured, including four innocent bystanders. The most serious charge involves the October 31, 2022 killing of Jamel Nicholson, described by prosecutors as a Folk Nation gang member and drill rapper, who was shot outside the Nostrand Houses. His girlfriend was wounded in the same attack. During the investigation, the NYPD recovered 18 illegal firearms from the defendants.¹

The Rivalry Behind the Charges

The state’s theory is that the shootings were not isolated acts but part of a shared plan. Prosecutors describe a long-running feud between the 59 Brims and Bloodhound Brims on one side and rivals including Folk Nation, FNO, WOOO, and GWAY, a subset of the Gorilla Stone Bloods. The violence escalated after the April 29, 2021 killing of Bloodhound Brims member Davonte Lewis, known as “Dior,” who was shot outside his high school in Midwood. According to the indictment, that killing turned a simmering feud into a years-long shooting war across Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island.¹

The Evidence Prosecutors Are Using

Much of the state’s evidence comes from the defendants themselves. Prosecutors allege the group openly signaled its intent to kill through music videos, Facebook and Instagram posts, recorded jail conversations, and text messages. One text exchange recovered after a May 29, 2022 shooting shows defendants criticizing the shooters for failing to put the intended victims in “critical condition” as planned.¹

Recorded jail calls are particularly damaging in cases like this because defendants sometimes discuss ongoing criminal activity without realizing the calls are monitored and preserved. Social media posts and videos, used by members as a recruiting and intimidation tool, become evidence of the conspiracy itself.

Why RICO and Conspiracy Matter Here

The federal government used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to prosecute the 59 Brims as a criminal enterprise rather than as a collection of individuals who happened to commit crimes. RICO lets prosecutors link what might look like unrelated offenses into a single pattern of criminal activity. A conviction carries up to 20 years in federal prison, and if any underlying offense carries a life sentence, the RICO charge itself can result in life imprisonment.⁴

The Brooklyn DA’s office relied instead on state conspiracy charges. Conspiracy requires prosecutors to show that defendants agreed to commit crimes and that at least one of them took a concrete step toward carrying them out. That framework can reach members who planned or encouraged violence even if they did not personally pull a trigger, which is why it fits a case built on a shared campaign of shootings.

Forfeiture and Restitution After Conviction

A federal RICO conviction triggers mandatory criminal forfeiture. The government can seize any property a defendant acquired through racketeering, any property used to run the enterprise, and any proceeds derived from the illegal activity, including real estate, vehicles, cash, and financial accounts. If the original property has been spent, hidden, or transferred, the court can order forfeiture of substitute assets of equal value.⁴ Third parties who claim a legitimate interest in seized property can petition for a hearing after the court’s preliminary forfeiture order.⁵

Federal law also requires courts to order restitution when defendants are convicted of crimes involving bodily injury or death. In a case like this one, where multiple victims were shot and one was killed, convicted defendants can be ordered to pay medical costs, rehabilitation, lost income, funeral expenses, and other related costs.⁶

Where the Cases Stand Now

The federal SDNY case is fully resolved. All 22 defendants were convicted and sentenced, with Willie Evans receiving the longest sentence.² The 129-count state indictment is in its early stages. The 14 defendants were arraigned in February 2025 and face discovery, motions, and trial preparation. Given the scope of the charges and the number of defendants, the case could take years to work through the courts.¹

Convicted defendants who eventually serve their federal sentences face additional restrictions after release. Supervised release in federal gang cases routinely includes conditions prohibiting contact with known gang members without permission from a probation officer, and violations can send a defendant back to prison.⁷

1
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Fourteen Alleged 59 Brims/Bloodhound Brims Gang Members Charged in Conspiracy Indictment for Murder and Shootings in South Brooklyn
2
U.S. Department of Justice. Former Godfather of 59 Brims Gang Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
3
U.S. Department of Justice. 11 Members of Brooklyn-Based 5-9 Brims Gang Charged with Racketeering Conspiracy, Murder, Murder for Hire
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1963 – Criminal Penalties
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 853 – Criminal Forfeitures
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes
7
United States Courts. Chapter 3 – Association and Contact Restrictions (Probation and Supervised Release Conditions)