Bloods gang members indicted on charges of murder, racketeering

Two alleged Bloods gang members were charged with murder, attempted murder, racketeering, drug offenses and other crimes in a superseding indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Central Islip, according to prosecutors.

The indictment said Dwayne Murray, 33, and Kendrick Seymore, 22, both of Coram, participated in separate murders, prosecutors with the Eastern District of New York said in a statement on Thursday. The two — along with a third defendant, Lavalle Wilson, 30, of Shirley — also committed numerous acts of violence on behalf of the Bloods, including robberies, home invasions, shootings and murders.

All three were already in custody and will be arraigned at a later date, prosecutors said.

The court papers said Murray fatally shot Wayne Cherry in the head on June 12, 2020, in the backyard of a vacant home in Baywood. Cherry’s body was found two days later. Seymore is charged with the July 23, 2021, murder of Nyasia Knox, Diamond Schick and Richard Castano in a Farmingville apartment, prosecutors said.

Suffolk County police said at the time of the killings that Castano and Schick lived at the Farmingville home. Knox, of Georgia, was staying with them.

A 1-year-old child was in the apartment at the time of the triple murder but was left physically unharmed.

Murray’s attorney, Derrick Magwood of Jericho, did not return a request for comment. Seymour’s lawyer, Joshua Horowitz of Garden City, declined to comment.

Wilson’s attorney, John Wallenstein of Garden City, said, “I’ve not yet had the opportunity to study the charges and examine them with my client but we will vigorously defend this case and Mr. Wilson will plead not guilty at arraignment.”

The defendants also used their membership in the Bloods street gang to distribute narcotics in Suffolk County, prosecutors said, and possessed multiple firearms to secure their ability to do so. If convicted, all three defendants could be sentenced to life in prison. Murray and Seymore also face the possibility of the death penalty for their alleged roles in the homicides.

“Today’s superseding indictment speaks loudly to this office’s commitment to making our communities safer by holding ruthless gang members accountable for the murders, gun violence and narcotics trafficking they allegedly carried out on behalf of the Bloods,” said Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.