An unsealed indictment charged Ahmar Garcia, also known as “OB,” and Raheem Patterson, also known as “Rah Rah,” with murdering sixteen-year-old Nisayah Sanchez on September 29, 2021, as a result of a gang war that plagued the city throughout that year, which cost the lives of multiple young men and boys throughout the Bronx.
Garcia, 25, and Patterson, 28, both of the Bronx, New York, are each charged (with respect to the September 29, 2021, shooting) with murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory sentence of life or death; conspiracy to murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and discharging a firearm during an in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.
Patterson is also charged (with respect to the December 2, 2021, shooting) with attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and discharging a firearm during an in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.
They are also charged with attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, which injured another victim during that same shooting. Patterson is also charged with attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon that occurred on December 2, 2021, when he shot at a rival gang member in Manhattan.
Garcia and Patterson were each brought into federal custody from New York State custody, where they had each been serving state sentences for other violent crimes. The defendants will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave later today. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.
“These charges stem from a violent gang war that played out on the streets of New York and ended with the cold-blooded murder of sixteen-year-old Nisayah Sanchez,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “I want to thank the women and men of this Office and our law enforcement partners who never wavered in the over four years since Sanchez’s senseless murder. Our Office will bring gun-toting criminals who threaten the safety of New Yorkers to justice.”
Since at least 2019, two warring alliances of violent street gangs engaged in retaliatory shootings, resulting in multiple young men and boys being shot, injured, and killed. After each shooting, the gangs glorified their acts of violence against their rivals, taunting them for their dead gang members, and promoting their own gangs and their allies via social media and through their rap videos. These posts and videos, in turn, fueled the cycle of violence, where the rival gangs retaliated against each other for each shooting, taunt, or perceived slight.
“As alleged, the defendants’ callous disregard for human life—brazenly carrying out an attack in broad daylight and then boasting about their crimes online—will not be tolerated,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “For too long, these criminal organizations have terrorized neighborhoods and placed innocent lives at risk—leaving families shattered and communities living in fear. This indictment marks a decisive blow against the violent street gangs that have inflicted fear and devastation on our neighborhoods. HSI New York, the New York City Police Department, and the Southern District of New York are unwavering in our commitment to rooting out those who threaten the safety of our streets.”
u.s. v. Garcia and Patterson Indictment by scott.mcclallen
Over the spring and summer of 2021, these two alliances engaged in a gang war that included multiple shootings against their enemies, real or perceived. These shootings resulted in the deaths of multiple young men and boys throughout the Bronx. On one side of this gang war was an alliance consisting principally of the MacBallers, the Drillys, and the 800 YGz gangs, which historically and generally aligned, collectively or through its individual members, with the Bloods. On the other side of this gang war was an opposing alliance principally including the Sev Side, Third Side, and Reyway gangs, all neighborhood sets generally aligned with the Crips.
“Ahmar Garcia and Raheem Patterson allegedly turned a gang rivalry into the killing of a 16-year-old boy on a Bronx street in broad daylight,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “That decision ended a young life, devastated a family, and put an entire community in danger. When violence is carried out this openly—and then celebrated—it demands a decisive response. This case shows what focused enforcement and strong federal partnerships can accomplish, and why the NYPD will continue to pursue violent gangs before they can take another life. I thank Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their partnership in bringing these charges.”
Court documents say that on September 29, 2021, in retaliation for the murders of their own gang members, and to promote their own standing in their respective gangs, members of the alliance of MacBallers, Drillys, and 800 YGz gangs, including AHMAR GARCIA, a/k/a “OB,” and RAHEEM PATTERSON, a/k/a “Rah Rah,” shot and killed Nisayah Sanchez, a 16-year-old member of the rival Sev Side, Third Side, and Reyway gang alliance, by sneaking up beside Sanchez and shooting him to death on a Bronx street in broad daylight, while also shooting and injuring another rival gang member.
A little over two months later, on December 2, 2021, PATTERSON and another member of his gang alliance shot multiple times at a rival gang member in midtown Manhattan as the rival was leaving a restaurant.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as the judge will determine the defendants' sentences.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent Organizations and Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Herman and Patrick R. Moroney are in charge of the prosecution.