Four Plead Guilty In NJ Gangland Murder

Four members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods street gang have pleaded guilty to racketeering and admit they took part in a 2006 murder in South Jersey. They were charged in ‘Operation Nine Connect,’ a joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice.

The defendants are Almeen Palmer, Steven Armstead, Quason Blake, and  Kelsey Smith. The state will recommend that Palmer be sentenced to 15 years in state prison Armstead to 12 years, Blake to 12 years and Smith to 10 years.

“The murder of Leroy Lindsey, who was gunned down for disrespecting a member of the Nine Trey Gangsters, is typical of the senseless violence that was perpetrated by this set of the Bloods street gang in New Jersey,” says Acting Attorney General John Hoffman. “As a result of Operation Nine Connect, we have sent over 40 members of this violent gang to state prison for lengthy sentences.”

All of the defendants admit they were members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods. All of them also admit they participated in the murder of Leroy Lindsay as members of the gang.  Lindsay, 23, was shot in the chest in Vineland. Each defendant admits that he participated in an attempt to “discipline” Lindsay for disrespecting another member of the Nine Trey Gangsters, and that the resulting altercation led to Lindsay being shot and killed.

“We will continue to partner with the New Jersey State Police and other agencies in wide-ranging investigations targeting the leadership and the most violent members of the criminal syndicates that are terrorizing many of our communities,” says Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Through Operation Nine Connect, we have dismantled a vicious criminal syndicate.”