Blood stained the sidewalks of Buffalo’s West Side twice in two years, and Ritchie Juarbe, 26, was in the thick of it. Convicted on Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy charges, Juarbe was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara for his role in two cold-blooded killings tied to the Cheko’s Crew/7th Street Gang.
Juarbe didn’t pull the trigger both times—but he was no bystander. On November 6, 2008, he accompanied co-defendant Efrain Hidalgo to the home of Raquan Lloyd. Hidalgo opened fire, executing Lloyd in a targeted hit. Juarbe’s job began the moment the gun fell silent: he took the murder weapon and vanished into the night, dumping it into the icy depths of the Niagara River to bury the evidence.
Less than a year later, on August 11, 2009, Juarbe helped carry out the murder of Eric Morrow, an associate of the rival 10th St. Gang. The hit was part of a broader campaign of violence waged by the Cheko’s Crew/7th Street Gang, a street syndicate that flooded Buffalo’s West Side with heroin, crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana between 2000 and 2012.
Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced the sentence as a major win in dismantling one of Buffalo’s most entrenched criminal enterprises. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who prosecuted the case, laid out a pattern of terror: drive-bys, drug wars, and executions—all orchestrated under the umbrella of a criminal enterprise that thrived on fear and loyalty.
Juarbe’s conviction is one of 18 in the sprawling 7th Street investigation, a years-long dragnet led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, the Buffalo Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, Major Steven Nigrelli, Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and Special Agent in Charge Ashan Benedict all oversaw critical phases of the probe that ultimately unraveled the gang’s operations.
The 210-month sentence sends a message: even those who don’t fire the fatal shot but enable the machinery of murder will pay. For the Cheko’s Crew, the streets they once ruled are now silent—its members locked away, and its reign of violence over.
Related Federal Cases
- Four 18th Street Gang Members Charged in Bar Robbery, Taxi Driver Kidnapping · New Jersey
- Tony Peebles Gets Nearly 25 Years for 10th Street Gang Rampage · Pennsylvania
- Nicholas Washington Arrested in 2005, 2006 Murders · Washington
- MS-13 Hitmen Get Life for Charlotte Murders · North Carolina
- Shaun Taylor ‘S-Dot’ Gets Life for Bushwick Murders · New York
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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