Christian John: Life for Brooklyn Gang Kingpin

Christian Keston John, 32, leader of the Hull Street Crew, was sentenced to life in prison today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, for orchestrating a reign of terror across Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and East New York for over a decade. Convicted after trial in December 2014, John was found guilty of racketeering, murder, attempted murder, murder-for-hire, armed robbery, narcotics distribution, and gambling on dog fighting — crimes that left six dead and entire neighborhoods on edge.

Marvin Johnson, 32, a key underling in John’s violent crew, also received a life sentence following his conviction on charges of murder, robbery, and narcotics distribution. The pair was found guilty of the 2006 murder of Earle Kevin Obermuller, a killing so brutal it shocked even seasoned investigators. Prosecutors detailed how the defendants lured Obermuller to an abandoned building, duct taped his entire head, and watched him suffocate. They then doused his body in accelerant and set it ablaze.

John was directly tied to four other murders: the 2000 killing of Charlemagne Lormand, the 2008 murders of Barry Haynes and Daquane Shelton, and the 2011 double homicide of Jason Bostic and Aaron Formey. In the latter, John ordered crew members to bind the victims with duct tape before executing them. The killings were part of a broader campaign of violence used to maintain control, eliminate rivals, and enforce loyalty within the gang.

The trial also exposed John’s sadistic methods of discipline. One crew member was bound and tortured with scalding water after being accused of disloyalty — an act that underscored the terror used to maintain the gang’s grip. The Hull Street Crew operated not just as criminals, but as enforcers of a lawless regime in Brooklyn’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, dealing drugs, robbing at gunpoint, and betting on underground dogfights.

U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers, who announced the sentences alongside FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., and NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill, called the life terms a long-overdue reckoning. “Today’s sentence marks a day of closure for the six families whose loved ones were senselessly murdered,” Capers stated. He emphasized the federal and local law enforcement collaboration that dismantled the crew, thanking the FBI and NYPD for their relentless work.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Soumya Dayananda and Robert T. Polemeni, and the sentencing was delivered by United States District Judge Frederic Block. With both Christian Keston John and Marvin Johnson now locked away for life, federal authorities say the takedown of the Hull Street Crew sends a clear message: violent gang leaders will be hunted, tried, and buried behind bars. E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 11-CR-00405.