A Jersey City man had admitted to stabbing a rival gang member during a group assault, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Sheldon Mays, also known as “Thottie,” 23, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, in aid of racketeering.
On August 3rd, 2020, Mays and seven others, all of whom are associated with a street gang operating in and around the Curries Woods Public Housing Complex in Jersey City – identified as “Curries Woods” or the “Tay Tay Shrimp Gang” or the “Sharks” – assaulted a rival gang member in retaliation for a prior gang-related assault.
As the victim was walking down a street in Jersey City, Mays and the others approached in two cars, parked in the middle of the street, and violently assaulted the victim, who was punched, kicked, and stabbed by Mays, and suffered life-threatening injuries.
Mays was among six charged with stabbing a rival gang member back in September 2021.
The count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2023.
Sellinger credited the special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Hudson County Department of Corrections with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI).
The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City.
