YTB gang leader convicted of murder

The leader of a gang was found guilty of murder in-aid-of racketeering by a federal jury in Brooklyn on May 9, and could face a mandatory term of life in prison, according to U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.

Christopher Acevedo, 28, of Jamaica, the leader and founder of the Wood City gang, also known as the Yellow Tape Boyz, was found guilty on May 9 of killing a rival in the Snow Gang over jewelry that was stolen from a high-ranking associate in his organization, prosecutors said.

The Wood City gang was founded in 2010, and consists of members who live around Woodhull Avenue in Hollis and engage in racketeering, murder, drug trafficking, fraud and various forms of identity theft, according to trial evidence. Since 2011, members of Wood City have been involved in a war with members of the Snow Gang. The two groups taunt and insult each on a regular basis via social media platforms and on phone calls.

On Aug. 26, 2019, the slights between the rival groups went from being online to in-person when one of the leaders of the Snow Gang, and a few members of his crew, robbed a high-ranking Wood City member of his gold YTB chain at a recording studio in Jamaica, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office told the Queens Chronicle via email.

The leader of the Snow Gang then hopped on social media to post a picture of himself wearing the diamond-encrusted chain, prosecutors said.

As the founder of Wood City/YTB, Acevedo was expected to retaliate against the Snow Gang leader to protect his group’s reputation, according to Peace.

The defendant, along with two members of his crew, followed a vehicle with the Snow Gang leader and his associates in it to a deli on 140th Avenue and Springfield Boulevard in Laurelton — Snow Gang territory — and he fired a dozen shots, killing David Hutchinson, the driver of the vehicle, the spokesman said. The victim was not the intended target of the shooting.

The defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison, Peace said in a statement.

“How senseless it was for Acevedo to callously take a human life to maintain and burnish his status as the leader of a violent street gang whose members felt insulted by the taking of a piece of jewelry,” Peace said. “Protecting our communities from gang and gun-related violence is a priority of my office and I commend the attorneys, special agents, and detectives whose work brought the defendant to justice.”