Jerrin Pena, also known as “Rooga” or “Perry,” has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in various violent activities as a member of the Own Every Dollar (OED) gang. This includes the murder of Hector Cruz, which occurred on April 14, 2019. Pena, who had previously pled guilty to multiple charges, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken. The charges included racketeering conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, Hobbs Act robbery, discharging a firearm in furtherance of Hobbs Act robbery, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms trafficking.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky remarked, “Jerrin Pena, a leader of the violent OED gang, murdered an innocent bystander, Hector Cruz, while trying to shoot at a rival gang member on April 14, 2019. Then, when in federal custody on these charges, Pena stabbed another inmate in an attempt to kill him. Yesterday’s lengthy prison sentence hopefully brings some measure of comfort to the family of Hector Cruz, and reinforces this Office’s commitment to ending gang violence throughout New York City.”
According to the Indictment and public records, Pena was a leader of the OED gang, a subset of the Trinitarios gang operating in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan. The indictment involves 24 members and associates of OED, accused of numerous violent crimes, including five murders and 15 attempted murders.
The incident on April 14, 2019, involved Pena and others driving to West 135th Street in Manhattan to target rival gang members. Pena shot at a rival on West 135th Street and Amsterdam Avenue but missed, striking bystander Hector Cruz, 57, in the liver. Cruz succumbed to the injury about a month later.
Pena's other crimes include an attempted murder on February 28, 2023, at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a gunpoint robbery on January 22, 2022, on Riverside Drive and West 145th Street in Manhattan, conspiring to traffic over four kilograms of fentanyl, and smuggling firearms from Pennsylvania to New York. Sixteen additional defendants in the case have admitted guilt.
Besides his prison term, Pena, aged 23, of New York, New York, will serve five years of supervised release. Commendation was extended by Mr. Podolsky to the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their exceptional work. The case is managed by the Office’s Narcotics Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Kushner, Kevin Mead, Ashley C. Nicolas, and Alexandra Messiter leading the prosecution.