A West Virginia man pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Supreme Court to ordering three unsolved murders in Queens in the early 1990s.
QNS file photo
A West Virginia man pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Brooklyn to murder during drug trafficking for his role in the 1991 killing of Oscar Flow in Springfield Gardens.
As part of his plea, 60-year-old Jerome “Sha” Jones also confessed to his role in the murders of Robert Arroyo in South Ozone Park and Dorothy Taylor in her South Queens home in 1992.
Jones was a high-ranking member of the notorious Black Rain gang from Queens, which sold drugs at several locations along Rockaway Boulevard in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The gang trafficked massive amounts of drugs and sold heroin under the brand name “Black Rain,” cocaine under the brand name “White Lightning,” and crack cocaine under the brand name “Thunder.”
In the early 1990s, a single Black Rain drug stash house was making about $15,000 a day selling narcotics. To protect their lucrative business, the gang committed serious acts of violence, including murder.
In December 1991, Jones learned that Oscar Flow had been stealing from his Black Rain crew, and he and his co-conspirator shot Flow multiple times in the head and body in Springfield Gardens. In August 1992, Jones recruited and paid two co-conspirators to murder Robert Arroyo, whom Jones believed to be a drug-trafficking rival and a police informant. On the first attempt, the recruits mistakenly shot and seriously wounded another man, whom they mistakenly believed to be Arroyo. The victim survived his injuries. On September 8, 1992, near 128th Street and Rockaway Boulevard, where Jones operated a drug stand, he made another killing on Arroyo. This time, the recruits spotted Arroyo on the crowded street and opened fire, hitting and killing him multiple times.
In November 1992, Jones ordered the murder of Dorothy Taylor, whom he blamed for getting a Black Rain drug store shut down by police for not paying rent. Jones again paid a co-conspirator to commit the murder. On November 2, 1992, Jones recruited him in Taylor’s driveway and shot her as she returned home.
“After 30 years, Jones has finally admitted his role in the premeditated murders of three individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “Despite the time that has passed, my office has continued to pursue all leads to seek justice for the victims and their families.”
Jones pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garafuis.
“This case should remind us that even when the trail seems to have gone cold, we will never deviate from our mission to bring wrongdoers, especially violent criminals, to justice.”
If convicted, Jones faces 20 years to life in prison.
“Today’s guilty plea reflects the tireless commitment of NYPD detectives to bring criminals to justice, no matter how much time passes,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban. “Because a cold case is never a forgotten case.”
