Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Thursday, Sept. 22, that Deejay White was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his participation in a May 29, 2019, gunpoint robbery in The Bronx. The incident involved the targeting of more than 150 kilograms of cocaine; his participation in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband, including narcotics and a firearm, into a federal detention facility; and his possession of the firearm while incarcerated. On July 23, 2021, White pled guilty before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed the 21-year sentence.

 

In the context of the announcement, Williams said, “Deejay White was responsible for a dangerous gunpoint robbery of more than 150 kilograms of cocaine that left several victims injured. Even more troubling, after he was arrested and in jail, White continued to commit crimes. White devised a perilous scheme to bring a gun and drugs into a federal prison. White placed inmates, prison staff, and court personnel in grave danger. Today’s lengthy sentence sends a clear message that those who endanger others will be brought to justice.”

 

According to information, court documents, and statements made in open court, in or about late May 2019, White learned that a Bronx-based member of a Puerto Rican-based drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) was expecting a delivery of furniture, which concealed approximately 176 kilograms of cocaine. White and others planned a violent, gunpoint robbery of the DTO’s cocaine. On May 29, 2019, White drove to a Bronx apartment where the DTO’s cocaine was stored and parked outside with his wife and young child in the car.

 

Minutes later, four co-conspirators forced entry into the apartment and held up the 10 victims, including four children, at gunpoint. Two victims were pistol-whipped during the robbery, and a third sustained serious injuries after jumping out of the apartment’s third-floor window in an attempt to flee to safety. One of the robbers threw a duffel bag containing dozens of kilograms of cocaine into White’s car, which then drove off.

 

Court officials said White was arrested on Nov. 25, 2019, on charges relating to the gunpoint robbery and conspiracy to distribute the stolen cocaine, was ordered detained, and was housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (“MCC”) in Manhattan. Days after entering the MCC, White began using contraband cellphones to conspire with others, including his wife, to commit additional crimes. Among other things, he directed his wife to smuggle drugs into the MCC, including cocaine and oxycodone, which officials said his wife did, on multiple occasions.

 

In or about January 2020, White also conspired with his wife and others to have a loaded firearm smuggled inside the MCC, which they also did, successfully. When Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) officials discovered a contraband cellphone in White’s cell on or about Feb. 26, 2020, White reported to an MCC investigator that there was a gun inside the MCC. He lied to the MCC investigator about his own role in smuggling the firearm inside the facility.

 

Once alerted that there may have been a firearm in the center, the BOP imposed a lockdown, which lasted several days, while officials searched for the gun. Following the search, on or about March 5, 2020, White’s loaded firearm was located inside a wall of his jail cell.

 

In addition to his prison term, White, 45, of Chappaqua, NY, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

 

Williams praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the New York field division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the New York State Police, the New York office of the FBI, special agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPE) in New York, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General New York field office.

 

Court officials said the investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) operation. According to court officials, the OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

 

A separate prosecution of White for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, is being handled by a separate narcotics unit. Assistant U.S. attorneys, Juliana N. Murray, Ryan B. Finkel, Peter J. Davis, and Kaylan E. Lasky, are in charge of this case.

 

White is also being prosecuted for conspiring to receive contraband in prison, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. This is being handled by the narcotics and public corruption units. Assistant U.S. attorneys, Juliana N. Murray, Ryan B. Finkel, Peter J. Davis, Kaylan E. Lasky, Aline R. Flodr, Daniel H. Wolf, and Jonathan E. Rebold, are in charge of this case.