In the early morning hours of December 7, 2017, the body of 17-year-old John Fernandez, a Hispanic male, was discovered on Bainbridge Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. He was found lying face down, dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask, with a fatal gunshot wound to his neck. Police were called to the scene around 5:20 a.m., though it is believed he may have been there for several hours before being found.
The night prior to his death, Fernandez, who was involved with the Gorilla Stone Apes, a subset of the Bloods gang, had reportedly told his sister he had been shot at. He later left his home, telling her he was going out to 'do a drill,' a slang term for committing a crime.
The investigation into the death of John Fernandez revealed a grim story of internal gang conflict. Surveillance footage captured Fernandez walking with another individual who then shot him in the neck. It was determined that Fernandez was a member of the 'Brick Squad' gang, and his murder was ordered by fellow gang members. Authorities concluded that the motive for the killing was a belief within the gang that Fernandez was not generating enough money and a mistaken suspicion that he was cooperating with law enforcement. This act of violence was part of a larger pattern of criminal activity by the Brick Squad, which included drug trafficking and numerous other shootings.
In December 2019, a major breakthrough in the case occurred when the NYPD announced a 48-count indictment against ten members of the Brick Squad gang for a variety of violent crimes, including the murder of John Fernandez. Among those charged were Stephan Khadu, Christopher Garcia, and Jahsuan Washington. The indictment detailed a well-organized criminal enterprise that engaged in violence to maintain its dominance and generate income. The gang's activities, which extended from Brooklyn to as far as Maine, were allegedly directed by incarcerated leaders.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a measure of justice for the death of John Fernandez. In September 2024, Christopher Garcia and Jashaun Washington were sentenced for their roles in the murder. Garcia, identified as a high-ranking member who ordered the killing, and Washington, the individual who carried out the shooting, were convicted of second-degree murder. They, along with another member, Quazeer Farmer, who was convicted in a separate murder, received sentences of up to life in prison. Several other co-defendants pleaded guilty to various charges and received sentences ranging from four to twelve years, marking a significant step in dismantling the violent gang. Stephan Khadu, who was also charged in connection with the murder, died before the conclusion of the trial.
