Antwaine Parker and Michael Woods, Gun Charge, New York 2020

Two Fruit Belt Gang Members Plead Guilty to Gun Charge

Buffalo, NY - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Antwaine Parker, 28, and Michael Woods, 32, both of Buffalo, NY, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Parker and Woods, both convicted felons, each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The pleas are the result of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, and the Erie Crime Analysis Center, under the direction of Director Jamie Giammaresi.

Since August 2019, the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force has been investigating the Fruit Belt Gang, whose members are allegedly actively engaged in the distribution of narcotics, firearms offenses, and gang activity. On July 1, 2020, Central Park Gang (CPG) member Shariff Jackson was murdered in Buffalo, and investigators believe that members of the Fruit Belt Gang were involved with Jackson's murder.

On July 4, 2020, defendants Parker and Woods were shot on Sycamore Avenue in Buffalo. Woods, who was shot in the head and spine, drove himself to the hospital, after throwing a gun from the scene. A 9mm handgun was recovered on the roof of a nearby building. Woods told investigators that he was driving in the area with an unnamed person when he was shot; he would not provide any additional information. Investigators believe the shooting could be the result of rival gang activity between CPG and the Fruit Belt.

In July 2020, both Woods and Parker posted photographs of themselves possessing firearms on social media accounts associated with them. Woods appeared to possess one gun, while Parker appeared to possess two guns.

Parker and Woods are each scheduled to be sentenced on August 3, 2021, before Judge Sinatra. Parker was convicted in state court of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in April 2014 and sentenced to serve 42 months in prison. Woods was convicted in state court of Attempted Criminal Possession of Controlled Substances in March 2012 and sentenced to serve five years' probation and was also convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm in July 2015 and sentenced to serve 84 months in prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/two-fruit-belt-gang-members-plead-guilty-gun-charge