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A recidivist gangbanger accused of plotting an attack on a rival drug dealer while behind bars was put back on the streets by officials in Albany — only to be busted again as part of violent Long Island street crew, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told The Post.
Joseph Baker, 34, was arraigned Thursday on a 23-count indictment alleging that, while incarcerated, he ordered five fellow 9 Trey Bloods gang members to shoot a longtime adversary in the legs in exchange for $10,000 last November, newly unsealed charging documents revealed.
But when investigators went to arrest Baker on April 23 at Cayuga Correctional Facility, where he was serving a three-year stint for drug possession, he was nowhere to be found.
Suffolk County DA Ray Tierney pointed the finger at Gov. Kathy Hochul after the state released accused gangbanger Joseph Baker early. Dennis A. Clark“The governor or anyone else shouldn’t unilaterally and arbitrarily decide who can be released and then claim that they’re non-violent or not a threat,” Tierney said, noting that Baker was busted the next day.
“We time our investigations to guarantee public safety based upon when people are going to be released and then when they’re released without us knowing that screws things up.”
Tierney pointed the finger at Gov. Kathy Hochul for the early release of Baker, a repeat violent offender.
Hochul ordered thousands of eligible non-violent criminals to be freed ahead of their anticipated releases to ease the prison population amid a statewide corrections staffing shortage but it’s unclear if Baker was released under those conditions.
State prison officials and Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
That policy required offenders to have suitable housing upon their release — but Tierney said that was not the case for Baker.
The controversial measure, which aims to reduce the inmate population by as much as 3%, comes after Hochul fired about 2,000 correctional officers who illegally went on strike earlier this year.
State prison records show that Baker was locked up at the upstate Queensboro Correctional Facility in February 2024 on a felony drug possession conviction.
Gov. Kathy Hochul released dozens of inmates to ease overcrowding during the state prison guard crisis. James MesserschmidtHe was sentenced to up to three years in prison but was released after a parole board interview last month, the records show.
Last month, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly blasted Hochul for releasing scores of inmates early because of a staffing crisis at state prisons.
Lavell Leftenant, 30, Isaac Smith, 31, Ibn Turner, 46, Dashad Eubanks, 35, and Amber Vasquez, 24, were also named in the indictment for their role in the alleged attack.
Prosecutors launched a multi-agency investigation after two people were shot – the suspected drug rival and an innocent bystander – and police recovered three illegal firearms from the alleged suspects over a two-week span starting on Nov. 8, 2024.
Tierney said recorded phone records from the upstate prison and other digital evidence pointed them to Baker, who ordered Turner to carry out the for-hire shooting with the alleged offenders on Nov. 4.
“The thorough investigation connected a series of related incidents and uncovered a disturbing scheme allegedly orchestrated by an incarcerated New York State inmate, which directly led to violence in Suffolk County,” Tierney said.
“I commend my office and our law enforcement partners for uncovering these alleged conspiracies, and we look forward to holding all of these defendants responsible in court.”
The alleged gangbangers were named in a 23-count indictment unsealed on Thursday,
Baker, Leftenant and Eubanks are being held without bail, while Smith and Vasquez are held on bail.
Turner is in custody in Georgia and is awaiting extradition, officials said.
Tierney, during a press conference Thursday morning, also announced that 22 alleged members of the Mac Baller Brims street gang were indicted in a 167-count indictment for 17 shootings, 3 armed robberies and 40 narcotics sales committed between January 2021 and April 2025.
The group was also charged with possessing 22 illegal firearms.
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