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Feb. 3, 2020 By Kristen Torres
A member of a Bushwick-based drug-trafficking ring pleaded guilty Friday for his role in the gruesome murder of two men whose bodies were found burned in Howard Beach in 2013, prosecutors said.
Maurice Brown, 28, also known as “Spaz,” was a member of the Bushwick Crew gang that killed Gary Lopez and Rudy Superville, according to prosecutors. Brown is the seventh– and final–defendant charged for participating in the crime.
Brown was part of the crew that murdered and tortured the two men at a Brooklyn apartment used by one of the gang’s heroin distributors.
Prosecutors said the incident was sparked by Lopez and Superville, who tried to rob the distributor. The pair were shot and wounded in their botched attempt.
The distributor then called for reinforcements, which included Brown, who showed up at the apartment along with four other crew members, and proceeded to beat and torture the two men.
Brown fatally shot Lopez as he attempted to call 911 for help. Superville was fatally stabbed by another gang member as he attempted to flee the apartment.
Once the men were dead, the crew doused the bodies with bleach and ammonia, wrapped them in plastic, and dumped them in a field in Howard Beach before setting the bodies on fire.
The crew had long ties to Mexican drug cartels and ran a large-scale heroin trafficking ring.
The members would escort drug traffickers, collect drug debts and commit violence against anyone who interfered with their operations, prosecutors said.
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