Rappers Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow treated gang members to steak dinners, gold chain for shooting Brooklyn rival: prosecutors
Gloating gang killers celebrated a rival’s slaying with a pricey dinner at a luxe steak house — chowing down with style on the dime of their most prominent members, two hip-hop stars who used their big bucks to fuel violence across Brooklyn, prosecutors said Tuesday.
And for one of the gang members, the night’s revelry came with a macabre piece of bling — he was awarded a custom gold chain with a cryptic reference to the dead man’s street name.
Gold-record-selling rapper Sheff G and his protégé Sleepy Hallow paid for the dinner at a swanky Manhattan steak house to celebrate the “mass shooting” in Prospect Lefferts Gardens that killed 23-year-old Theodore Senior in 2020 and wounded five others, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
The rappers wore matching outfits, and one of the attendees was gifted with the custom-made gold chain with the dead man’s nickname on it, NYPD Deputy Chief Jason Savino told reporters Tuesday.
“What an ultimate insult,” Savino said.
Sheff G and Sleepy Hollow — their real names are Michael Williams, 24, and Tegan Chambers, 23 — were indicted alongside 30 other gang members linked to 27 different acts of violence, including a dozen shootings, prosecutors and police announced Tuesday.
The suspects are members of the 8 Trey Crips and the 9 Ways gangs, which teamed up to wage a yearslong campaign of violence in Brooklyn, Gonzalez said.
Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow rose to fame as rap musicians, starting their own record label and signing a deal with RCA Records.
“Sheff G is not a wannabe drill rapper. He is a legitimate person who made it good. He has gold records, he’s made a lot of money. He rented a very large house, some may call it a mansion, in Short Hills, N.J.,” Gonzalez said.
“Instead of using his fame and fortune for the betterment of himself and his family and those close to him, we allege that he used his fame and fortune to elevate gang violence in Brooklyn.”
The investigation started after the Oct. 21, 2020, drive-by shooting on Hawthorne St. and Nostrand Ave. in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, which killed Senior, an alleged Folk Nation gang member, and wounded five others.
That shooting was sparked by a social media beef between Sheff G and a Folk Nation-affiliated rapper, and the 8 Trey Crips-9 Ways alliance decided they’d shoot up the street that their rivals used as a hangout spot, Gonzalez said.
Sheff G’s sister, Crystal Williams, texted him saying that one of the main Folk Nation members “had to get hit or killed,” Gonzalez said.
Chilling video shows two of the shooters stick guns out of the front and back driver’s side windows of a white Infiniti sedan, while a third gunman pops out of the sunroof. They fired about 30 shots altogether. The gang used a second vehicle to block off the street so that the shooter’s car could escape.
Authorities identified the shooter who came out of the sunroof as Kamondre Dekattu, 22.
Afterward, Sheff G texted one of his fellow gang members asking for confirmation that the hit was successful, and he sent a photo of the victim and news articles about the shooting to his sister.
The steak dinner happened two days later.
“It is a fine Manhattan steak restaurant. I’m not going to give the name of the restaurant,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a fine restaurant. An expensive restaurant. I’ve been there once in my life, and the food is very good.”
Senior’s nickname was “Sniper,” and the gold chain was made to brag about his killing, authorities allege. It was given to co-conspirator Jovanie “G-Gill” Chouloutte, 22, and includes a sniper’s crosshairs with two x-marks over it that signify Senior was killed, law enforcement sources said.
Some of the young attendees recorded the celebration, Gonzalez said.
Prosecutors also described another violent episode, which started when members of the rival ICG Babiiez gang shot at Sheff G’s New Jersey mansion on April 5, 2021. The gang was convinced one of their own tipped their rivals off to the existence of mansion, which was supposed to be secret, so they sought revenge.
The next day, Sheff G got behind the wheel of his Jeep Trackhawk and drove on Caton Ave. toward E. 18th St. in Flatbush.
Three accomplices, Olivel Martinez, 23, Tony Darden, 19, and Kenrick Austrie, 23, got out and started shooting at a rival, but wounded two innocent bystanders instead, the DA said.
On June 20, 2021, 10 members of the gang tracked down the man they believed was the turncoat, shoved him into the trunk of a car and drove him to Holy Cross Cemetery in East Flatbush, where they beat him nearly to death, police and prosecutors said.
The man was saved only because a 911 caller alerted police, who were able to arrive in time, Gonzalez said.
Sheff G also offered a reward for revenge on one of the rivals who shot up his house, saying in a text message, “This gets done, I got 5K for you,” Gonzalez said.
Mayor Adams praised the investigation that led to the indictments, and called the suspects “dangerous.”
“You saw the sophistication of blocking off streets, targeting people, plotting out for months, the vicious beating in a cemetery. They are dangerous people. Dangerous people,” he said.
Sheff G is already serving two years for a 2021 gun possession conviction, and he was slated to be released next month.
His lawyer, Mitchell Elman, declined comment Tuesday.
The gang members face a variety of charges, including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, weapon possession, assault and gang assault.
Twenty-five of the 32 suspects have been arrested, while the other seven remained at large.