Long Island gang member Joel Badger, 22, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in a case that grew out of a sweeping gang probe launched after a 2023 drive-by shooting in Hempstead. That April 1, 2023 attack killed Bronx elementary school teacher Kimberly Midgette while her 10-year-old daughter sat in the back seat of the car. Prosecutors say the shooters went after the wrong vehicle in a fatal case of mistaken identity.
Drive-by killing sparks massive gang takedown
Authorities say Midgette’s death helped trigger a multi-year investigation into a Brims subset that operated across Nassau and Suffolk counties and was tied to a string of shootings and robberies. As detailed by Patch, that probe led to a 103-count indictment charging 31 alleged members and associates in connection with 18 shootings, three armed robberies and the recovery of more than a dozen illegal guns. Investigators maintain that evidence shows Midgette was not the intended target.
Badger’s plea, Ridge robbery and lingering murder case
According to Daily Voice, prosecutors say Badger was convicted in Suffolk County on conspiracy and robbery charges. Officials also say he admitted to a first-degree robbery for allegedly luring a victim to a Ridge parking lot in September 2023. He pleaded guilty in that case in January 2026 and was sentenced on July 8.
Badger, prosecutors note, still faces separate Nassau County murder charges tied to the Hempstead shooting. Those counts are pending and will move on their own track through the courts.
Multi-agency push and ongoing fallout
Law enforcement officials cast the gang takedown as the product of a long-term, coordinated push to dismantle a violent crew operating on Long Island. Prosecutors and local reports say the investigation involved more than 100 search warrants and close collaboration between Suffolk and Nassau agencies.
Courts are expected to keep grinding through the remaining cases, and prosecutors acknowledge that appeals and additional hearings could follow as the legal fallout from the probe continues.
DA’s message on gangs and guns
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has framed Badger’s sentence as part of a wider campaign against gang violence and illegal firearms in the region. “If you are committing violent crime in Suffolk County, we are coming for you,” District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a press release announcing the original takedown, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Badger is now serving his 22-year term in Suffolk County while related cases in neighboring jurisdictions proceed. For Midgette’s family and the communities touched by the Hempstead shooting, the sentence marks a measure of closure in one part of a broader, still-unfolding legal saga.
