Semi OT: $750,000 bail set for seven tied to James Bond Gang
The Shadow
By PETER POCHNA
Staff Writer
A judge in Hackensack set bail at $750,000 on Friday for seven alleged
members of a Bergen County-based burglary crew, and another judge sentenced
one of the ringleaders to more than nine years in prison.
The activity at the Bergen County Courthouse began with a dozen corrections
officers marching seven of the defendants into court following their arrests
earlier this week on charges that they stole more than $1 million in goods
and cash.
Superior Court Judge John Conte needed nearly 20 minutes to read all of the
charges brought against the alleged members of the James Bond Gang. The high
bail was "based on the numerous charges and the history'' of the defendants,
Conte told a courtroom packed with media and friends and relatives of the
defendants.
Afterward, relatives, some in tears, complained that the defendants had been
"railroaded.''
"Everything is exaggerated,'' said a woman who declined to be identified.
"It's a political circus.''
Mike Mordaga, chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office,
said the defendants have only themselves to blame.
"If they would stay out of people's homes, then they would stay out of
court,'' he said.
Authorities said the seven men are the resurrection of an early 1990s
burglary ring that got its moniker by modifying a BMW with secret
compartments, lights to blind pursuing police, and a pump that released an
oil slick in its wake. Several members were arrested in 1996 and sent to
federal prison.
Another group, called The Gatson Crew' - named after alleged leader Daniel
Gatson, 30, of Teaneck - adopted similar techniques and continued the spree
of burglaries, Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor Ralph Lilore said Friday.
Once the original James Bond leaders got out of prison, they merged with
Gatson's team to form the current gang, he said.
At least 31 burglaries in July and August are being traced to the group, and
authorities believe it is responsible for hundreds more.
The seven who appeared before Conte on Friday are Bruce Anderson, 35, Bobby
Madden, 31, and Demetrius Owens, 30, of Teaneck; Corey Emanuel, 29, and Leon
Roberts, 35, of Englewood; Jeffrey Gamble, 32, of Hackensack, and David
Kirkland of New York City. One of the original gang's organizers, Terrence
Lawton, 33, of Bergenfield, is being held in Georgia.
All the defendants face various counts of third-degree burglary and
second-degree theft. Several are charged with more than 50 offenses.
In a separate proceeding, Gatson was sentenced to nine years and six months
in prison for burglarizing a Paramus home in 2000. Gatson and another man
were convicted of breaking into the home in the Mill Run complex after
police caught them fleeing the scene in a white SUV loaded with masks,
gloves, wire cutters, and a stun gun.
Gatson is also accused of breaking into an Upper Saddle River home, locking
three children and an au pair in a bathroom, and trying to make off with a
floor safe before police grabbed him. He is awaiting trial on the charges,
which came while he was out on bail for the Paramus burglary.
Superior Court Judge Donald Venezia cited Gatson's lengthy criminal record,
which includes four other felony convictions, when he approved the state's
motion for an extended sentence beyond the maximum of five years for a
burglary conviction. He gave Gatson eight years for the burglary and an
additional year and a half for possession of the stun gun.
"He has run the gamut, traveling the state with one thing in mind:
committing offenses,'' said Venezia. "Things must come to an end. Today, you
must pay the piper.''
Gatson's attorney, Kevin Row, said the sentence was "unduly harsh when
compared to other sentences imposed in this county for similar offenses.''
He insisted that there is "absolutely no connection'' between Gatson and the
James Bond Gang.
Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor David Calviello had urged the judge to
issue a stiff sentence.
"Finally we can put him away and protect our state from the burglaries he
would very likely commit,'' Calviello said.
gonzo
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