East Coast Leader of Eight Trey Crips Street Gang Sentenced to Life in Prison for Execution-Style Murder in Brooklyn Nightclub

Larry Pagett, the East Coast leader of the Eight Trey Crips street gang, was sentenced today by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II to life imprisonment for murdering a member of the rival Folk Nation street gang as part of a gang turf war.  Pagett was convicted by a jury of murder in-aid-of racketeering in October 2018 following an eight-day trial. 

Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

“Larry Pagett will deservedly spend the rest of his life behind bars for brazenly committing an execution-style, gang-related murder inside a lounge in Brooklyn,” stated Acting U.S Attorney Kasulis.  “This Office will continue working tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to eradicate the murderous violence of street gangs like the Eight Trey Crips and end their wanton disregard for human life.” 

The Eight Trey Crips were based in and around the Flatbush Gardens housing complex.  The Crips and the Folk Nation, a rival street gang, had been engaged in a deadly feud over territory in Brooklyn for years.  On August 28, 2015, Pagett encountered Chrispine Philip, also known as “Droppa,” inside the Buda Hookah Lounge located on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.  Philip was a member of the rival Folk Nation, and Pagett blamed him for the murder of an Eight Trey Crips gang member in Trinidad in the Spring of 2015.  Pagett pulled out a gun, shot Philip multiple times and ended his life with a final bullet to the back of his head.  A bystander in the crowded nightclub was also shot in the stomach and arm, but survived.  The murder was recorded on video surveillance cameras inside the club. 

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick T. Hein and Mathew S. Miller are in charge of the prosecution. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  As part of the program, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The Defendant:

LARRY PAGETT (also known as “Biz,” “Biz Loc” and “Molotovbizzz”)
Age:  41
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-306 (WFK)