DA: Mount Vernon Gang Members Charged In July Shooting

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. – The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office charged three alleged Mount Vernon gang members with multiple felonies that stem from a July 25 shooting.

Kristopher Benjamin, 24, Travis Clarke, 23, and Tyrone McCallum, 25, are each charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. McCallum also faces a second charge of criminal possession of a weapon. The DA's office said that all three are members of the GMG gang who operate in the area of 13th Avenue in Mount Vernon.

The trio fired 10 shots from a semi-automatic pistol at a vehicle traveling on E. Sidney Avenue near the intersection of N. Columbus Avenue in an attempt to kill the occupants of the vehicle on July 25 at approximately 9:03 p.m., the DA said. One bullet struck a 65-year old woman who was traveling in a different vehicle, which hit her car and seriously injured her, the DA said.

“The residents of the City of Mount Vernon should not feel that the streets are a place of constant fear as their community is held hostage by handgun violence,” said Westchester County DA Janet DiFiore after the defendants were arraigned. “Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood we are committed to reducing violent crime and aggressively targeting the lethal combination of gangs and guns which is essential in making a safe community a reality for everyone in the City of Mount Vernon and Westchester County.”

The charges come after a two-month investigation by the Mount Vernon Police Department and the DA’s office. The trio each face a maximum sentence of state prison on the top charges and will appear in court next on Oct. 23. Bail for Clarke and McCallum is set at $500,000 while Benjamin is remanded to the county jail.

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