A 30-year-old Baltimore man known on the street as “Nacho” and “Cheese” was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison Wednesday for shooting a marijuana dealer to death inside a U-Haul van during a botched robbery and kidnapping in Queens. Marcus Pittman was the last of six co-conspirators to be held accountable in a case that began with a fake drug deal and ended in an execution-style killing on a residential Bayside street.
U.S. District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto imposed the 324-month sentence following Pittman's guilty plea in December 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. “Today, the defendant was held accountable for an execution-style, drug-related killing that he carried out in our community,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said, according to a post from the US Attorney EDNY.
A Fake Deal Turns Into a Kidnapping
Prosecutors say the plot began overnight between July 24 and July 25, 2024, when a six-person robbery crew traveled from Baltimore to set up a fake marijuana purchase at a Queens stash house. Two members of the crew entered under the pretense of buying weed, then drew weapons and let the rest of the group inside, the department's account states.
Once inside, the crew bound two dealers with zip ties and stole roughly 30 pounds of marijuana before forcing both captives into a Jeep and a U-Haul van, driving them around Queens while demanding more cash and drugs, per the same account. Pittman fought with one of the victims, identified in court papers as John Doe #1, in the rear compartment of the U-Haul in Bayside. He shot the man multiple times, and first responders later found the victim's bound body surrounded by bags of marijuana.
Six Defendants, Six Outcomes
Pittman was the sixth and final defendant convicted in the conspiracy. Co-conspirators Jerome Waters, Delonta Pittman, and Jalon Lenny Garrett previously received federal prison sentences of 20 years, 15 years, and 13 years respectively, the Justice Department reported. Co-defendant William Barnett is still awaiting sentencing, while Calvin Israel also entered a guilty plea in the case.
Pittman pleaded guilty under a federal statute carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for discharging a firearm causing death during a violent felony, the department noted in a December 2025 announcement. The prosecution was handled in coordination with Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national violent crime reduction initiative, and Hoodline previously reported on his guilty plea.
Joint Investigation, Broader Crackdown
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. and NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch issued joint statements emphasizing that law enforcement agencies prioritize targeting multi-jurisdictional crews that cross state lines to commit armed drug robberies, according to the Justice Department. The investigation involved joint operations between the FBI's New York Field Office and NYPD detectives.
The case lands amid a broader city push against illegal guns. Tisch announced earlier this month that New York City law enforcement removed more than 3,000 illegal firearms from city streets during the first seven months of 2026 through multi-agency efforts including the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, according to NYC.gov. City officials also reported record-low murders and shooting incidents during that same stretch.
Prosecutors Keep Pace on Violent Cases
The Pittman sentencing wasn't an isolated action for federal prosecutors in Brooklyn this month. On August 12, EDNY prosecutors secured another 27-year sentence, this one against Bloods gang member Joshua Crowell for a violent gang shooting and fatal fentanyl distribution on Long Island, with U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown handing down the sentence following Crowell's racketeering assault and drug distribution convictions.
The same day Pittman was sentenced, EDNY prosecutors also secured a guilty plea from Bloods gang leader Dwayne Murray for racketeering, narcotics distribution, and a 2020 Long Island murder. Murray faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison. U.S. Attorney Nocella, whose office has led a string of high-profile prosecutions this year, was appointed to head the Eastern District of New York by a judicial panel in August 2025 after previously serving as interim U.S. Attorney, according to reporting from The Washington Post. He previously served as a Nassau County Family Court judge and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district earlier in his career.
