Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the guilty pleas of JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, a/k/a “JD CHOCOLATY,” 21; JUAN PICHARDO, a/k/a “JD PIMPLES,” 23; and KENNY GRULLON, a/k/a “JD DODGERS,” 20, for their involvement in an Inwood gun and drug trafficking ring that sold firearms and wholesale quantities of cocaine and Ecstasy to an undercover detective during a 10-month investigation. LOPEZ, PICHARDO, GRULLON and their associates were charged with the sale and possession of 22 firearms – including three assault weapons, a MAC-90, a MAC-11 and TEC-22 – worth more than $27,500, as well more than 20 ounces of cocaine and 99 doses of Ecstasy worth a total of $16,480.

“With the final three guilty pleas of members of this crime ring, we have brought a definitive end to this violent enterprise that plagued Northern Manhattan,” said District Attorney Vance. “One by one, we took the defendants who sold heavy-duty weapons – including semi-automatic rifles and illegal drugs including cocaine and Ecstasy – off the streets, making Manhattan safer in the process. Gun violence and drugs destroy lives, break apart families, threaten harm to our children and weaken our neighborhoods. They have no place in our community.”

LOPEZ pleaded guilty today to the top charges in the indictment: Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree. He sold nearly half a kilogram of cocaine and 13 firearms.

PICHARDO pleaded guilty today to the top charges in the indictment: Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree.

On September 14, 2010, GRULLON pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree.

On October 4, 2010, LOPEZ is expected to be sentenced to a maximum of 16 and one half years in state prison. On October 4, 2010, PICHARDO is expected to be sentenced to 11 years in state prison. GRULLON is expected to be sentenced to 11 years in state prison on October 1, 2010. All three defendants are also expected to be sentenced to five years post-release supervision.

According to documents filed in court, the investigation leading to the three guilty pleas revealed that the defendants were part of a loose association that actively engaged in the distribution of guns, cocaine and Ecstasy to street customers and other narcotics dealers from around the city. The association operated primarily from West 212th to West 215th Streets, between Broadway and Tenth Avenue.

Related defendants CHRISTOPHER NAVARRO, 25, EMMANUEL FELIX, 24, MICHAEL BERRIOS, 22, and ringleader MARCEL NAVARRO, 22, previously pleaded guilty.

District Attorney Vance thanked Assistant District Attorney Jason Berland, who prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Dan M. Rather, Chief of Trial Division Initiatives; Assistant District Attorney Christopher Ryan, Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit; and Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bayles, Deputy Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit.
 
District Attorney Vance also thanked New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Organized Crime Control Bureau Chief Anthony J. Izzo, Inspector Thomas F. DiRusso, Captain Robert VanHouten, Captain Joseph Kenny, Lieutenant Thomas McPartland, Sergeant Patrick Mulcahy, case Detective Douglas Lansing and the detectives of the Manhattan Firearms Investigation Unit, and Lieutenant Salvatore Bertocci and detectives of the Firearms Analysis Section.
    
Defendant Information:

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, a/k/a “JD CHOCOLATY,” D.O.B, 07/29/89
New York, N.Y.

Charges:

•    Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, one count, a class B violent felony
•    Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree , one count, a class C violent felony
•    Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, one count, a class A-I drug felony

JUAN PICHARDO, a/k/a “JD PIMPLES,” D.O.B. 9/11/87
New York, N.Y.

Charges:

•    Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree , one count, a class C violent felony
•    Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, one count, a class A-II drug felony

KENNY GRULLON, a/k/a “JD DODGERS,” D.O.B. 9/24/89
New York, N.Y.

Charges:

•    Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree , one count, a class C violent felony
•    Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, one count, a class A-II drug felony

A class B felony is punishable by up to 25 years in prison, a class C felony is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a class A-I drug felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and a class A-II drug felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.