A member of the Own Every Dollar gang has entered a guilty plea on multiple charges, including the murder of 57-year-old Hector Cruz. Jerrin Pena, known on the streets as "Rooga" and "Perry," admitted his involvement in a series of violent crimes that have rattled the Washington Heights community, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The array of charges includes racketeering conspiracy, murder, and attempted murder, among others.
In April 2019, Pena fired shots at a rival gang member but, missed, his bullet instead striking Cruz, an innocent bystander. Cruz later succumbed to his injuries. Pena also pleaded guilty to participating in a stabbing within the Metropolitan Detention Center in 2023, a brazen gunpoint robbery of a drug dealer in 2022, and roles in narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams expressed his commitment to combating gang violence, stating, "This Office will not stop its pursuit of dangerous gangs, and violent gang members will be apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." The indictment brought against OED has so far seen 13 other defendants pleading guilty, with one individual, Mayovanex Rodriguez, receiving a 25-year sentence for a 2022 murder, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Pena, a 23-year-old New York resident, is slated for sentencing on March 4, 2025, by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken. The charges could lead to a maximum life sentence though the actual sentencing will be at the discretion of the judge. The prosecutor's office gave acknowledgments to the NYPD and DEA for their "outstanding work" in this case; that, is currently overseen by the Office’s Narcotics Unit with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Kushner, Kevin Mead, Alexandra S. Messiter, and Ashley C. Nicolas at the helm of the prosecution.
