Harvey Hustler associate sentenced to 35 years in quintuple shooting

Days after he was sentenced for federal homicide and narcotics charges, a Waggaman drug dealer tied to the notorious Harvey Hustlers street gang was sentenced in state court on Monday (April 25) to 35 years in prison for a West Jefferson shooting that injured three toddlers and two women. None of the five injured victims was an intended target of the gunfire.

Frankie Hookfin Jr., 24, who was part of an offshoot to the Harvey Hustlers, pleaded guilty in Jefferson Parish’s 24th Judicial District Court earlier this year to five counts of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated criminal damage to property and aggravated flight. His sentencing was postponed to Monday, as Hookfin’s guilty pleas in state and federal court were a result of the coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Those charges stem from his involvement in a shooting at the Lapalco Apartments in the 2300 block of Lapalco Boulevard in Harvey on April 22, 2013. Hookfin and a second gunman stood outside an apartment door about 4:20 a.m., and opened fire, authorities said.

Immediately after the shooting, Hookfin led police on a chase across the Crescent City Connection into downtown New Orleans, where he wrecked his car at the Earhart Boulevard exit. Hookfin was injured after jumping or falling from the exit ramp to the ground below, authorities said.

Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court, who accepted Hookfin’s guilty plea on Jan. 19, handed down the 35-year sentence on Monday. Judge Sullivan ran the sentence concurrently with a 35-year prison sentenced Hookfin received last week in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office originally charged Hookfin and three others with the attempted murders, but later dismissed the charges against two of them. The third man, Charlie Gumms, was among the 21 defendants charged in a superseding indictment last year, in connection with the Harvey Hustlers narcotics distribution ring.

Gumms, 20, of Terrytown, pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, to five counts of attempted second-degree murder for the Lapalco Apartments shooting, racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute heroin. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Hookfin was not included in that 21-defendant Harvey Hustler case, because the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans charged him with the same narcotics-related activities in federal court last year.

Hookfin pleaded guilty on Sept. 22, to charges of causing a death through the use of firearms and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin. In connection with that plea, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk sentenced Hookfin on Thursday (April 21) to 35 years in prison.

In that case, Hookfin admitted he was among four men who on Feb. 11, 2013, went to Marrero looking to kill a rival to their narcotics ring, “Buddy Boy,” federal prosecutors say in court documents. Hookfin and others, went to a house in the 6100 block of August Avenue and opened fire as they walked down the street, causing several people outside to flee.

Emeal Washington, 58, who was visiting a friend at the house, was shot dead as he ran, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said at the time. Gunmen fired 81 bullets.

On Feb. 13, 2013, Hookfin was among the same group that went to Bridge City to attack another rival to their narcotics ring. Hookfin and two others stormed the house, kicking in the front door and opening fire, authorities said.

Doretha Richardson, 81, whose grandson was the target in the home invasion, was shot and killed in her kitchen. Hookfin also shot a cohort, Isaac Smith, in the back during that crime, federal prosecutors say.

Hookfin also admitted he was among the shooters at two other incidents, including the Jan. 12, 2013, shooting of a man who purchased heroin from the narcotics ring using fake $100 bills, federal prosecutors say. In that incident, the victim, his girlfriend and their two children led the gunmen on a car chase that ended at a store parking lot, where the gunmen opened fire. No one died in that incident.

Then, on Feb. 11, 2013, just before Washington was killed in Marrero, Hookfin and cohorts shot at another man, federal prosecutors say.

Assistant District Attorney Doug Freese prosecuted Hookfin in the state case. Freese and Assistant District Attorney Seth Shute worked on the Harvey Hustler cases with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Orleans Gang Task Force and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

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