In a recent development within the criminal justice system, Abel Mora, a member of the Trinitarios gang, known as "Moreno," was handed a 135-month sentence for his involvement in two separate shootings and his attempt to sneak contraband into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn; this announcement was made following a court ruling in Brooklyn, with United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis presiding over the case, as the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York reported.
Last year, Moreno admitted to a Hobbs Act robbery and to discharging a firearm during an August 2023 incident where he shot and robbed an individual in East New York; after his incarceration, he was also implicated in a scheme involving a rope laden with illicit items such as drugs, a weapon, and other prohibited objects meant to be smuggled into the Metropolitan Detention Center but was caught on surveillance attempting the imprudent stunt with his accomplices, and on June 24, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession of contraband in prison.
United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. took a firm stance declaring, "Our Office has zero tolerance for inmates that make jails less safe and will continue to aggressively prosecute gang members who victimize the public by engaging in gun violence and put innocents at risk as they go about their day," underscoring the intent to curb gang-related violence and maintain security within penal institutions, as indicated in the U.S. Attorney's Office press release.
The tenacity of Mora's criminal pursuits manifested both in a daytime shoot-out in Queens, where shots were exchanged following an altercation with an individual, causing panic among the local residents including children and later that same day Moreno again partook in violence this time outside a corner store in Brooklyn, shooting a victim and taking off with the person's backpack—a disturbing display caught on surveillance cameras; furthermore, these transgressions paired with his later attempt to introduce contraband into MDC, painted a picture of a habitual lawbreaker.
Assistant United States Attorneys Emily J. Dean, Dana Rehnquist, and Russell Noble, representing the government's Organized Crime and Gangs Section and General Crimes Section, managed the prosecution of this case, as the aforementioned press release describes. The conviction stands as a collaborative achievement by numerous law enforcement entities, including the FBI/New York City Police Department Metro Safe Streets Task Force, with substantial contributions from NYPD's 75th and 101st Precincts.
