Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JEFFREY HERRING, 27, was convicted today of robbing and murdering Michael Northcote on October 12, 2015, in Swan Lake, New York, as well as racketeering charges in connection with his membership in the Askari, a Bloods gang. The jury convicted HERRING on all five counts in the controlling indictment following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim stated: “Jeffrey Herring, as a member of the Bloods gang Askari, carried out a violent home-invasion robbery with fellow gang members and senselessly murdered Michael Northcote. Today, a unanimous jury convicted him of racketeering and murder, holding him accountable for his brutal crimes. We want to thank our law enforcement partners – federal, state, and local – for their outstanding work on this case. We are particularly grateful to Sullivan County District Attorney James Farrell for his extraordinary partnership with our Office on this and so many other cases. We hope the jury’s verdict brings some comfort and justice to the family of the victim of Herring’s crimes.”
According to court papers and evidence admitted at trial:
From 2014 to May 2016, JEFFREY HERRING was a member of the Askari in Sullivan County. The Askari is a subset of the Bloods gang that engaged in, among other things, robberies, shootings, and drug dealing. On October 12, 2015, HERRING and several other individuals, including other Askari members, carried out a home-invasion robbery of Michael Northcote, a marijuana dealer, at 177 Cohen & Cohen Road, Swan Lake, New York. In the course of that robbery, HERRING shot and killed Northcote.
For these activities, HERRING was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; one count of robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; one count of murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, to be served consecutively to any other sentence, and a maximum sentence of life; conspiring to violate the racketeering laws, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and felony murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
HERRING is scheduled to be sentenced on November 16, 2017, before Judge Karas.
Acting U.S. Attorney Kim praised the Sullivan County District Attorney, the FBI, the New York State Police, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, the Village of Monticello Police Department, and the Village of Liberty Police Department for their outstanding work in this investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Gerber, Lauren Schorr, and Maurene Comey are in charge of the prosecution.