Man accused of shooting rival drug dealer in front of kid faces prison in NY, feds say
A man accused of shooting multiple “rival drug dealers,” including one in front of his daughter, is facing prison in New York after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and firearms offenses on Nov. 1, federal officials said.
Antonio Mora, 28, pleaded guilty to three counts “in connection with his participation in two Bronx-based narcotics conspiracies,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the state’s southern district, announced in a news release.
”Mora was a prolific dealer of heroin and crack, and a violent enforcer for two different narcotics organizations,” Williams said in a statement.
The several shootings included “a brazen daytime shooting on a busy residential street where Mora shot a man twice in front of his young daughter,” he added.
McClatchy News reached out to two Justice Department officials Nov. 2, and one declined to comment. Attorneys for Mora did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Mora belonged to a broad drug operation crew in the Bronx “that had a rivalry with another crew in the neighborhood,” and was joined by his brother, Brian Mora, “in selling crack and heroin” in 2016, according to court documents.
The violence hit a peak in fall 2018 between the rival drug groups, the documents state.
When the brothers saw a drug dealing rival walking along the street with his young daughter on Sept. 17, 2018, according to court documents, they emerged from a car wearing black masks to chase him.
“When their target lifted his daughter into his arms and tried to run, Brian and Antonio ripped her out of his arms and threw her to the ground,” the court documents said, noting another accomplice was present in the attack.
The rival drug dealer, who was not named, was shot in the leg by the brothers who ran away with the third accomplice, according to court documents.
Antonio Mora and Brian Mora were indicted on July 15, 2019, and charged with conspiring to distribute one kilogram and more of heroin, and 280 grams and more of crack.
They were also charged with using and discharging a firearm in relation to the narcotics conspiracy.
Brian Mora pleaded guilty to the firearm charge on March 13, 2020, and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to court documents.
Antonio Mora has been detained since his arrest in July 2019 and applied for bail, which was denied, in April 2020 and argued his detainment during the COVID-19 pandemic was a health risk since he has asthma.
Although the court acknowledged the degree of risk with Mora’s asthma amid the pandemic, it concluded “that risk is not outweighed by the significant danger that Defendant’s release would pose.”
Now, Mora has pleaded guilty to three counts: conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 280 grams and more of crack cocaine and 1 kilogram and more of heroin, conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and heroin, and using and carrying firearms during, and possessing firearms in furtherance of, the narcotics conspiracy, according to the news release.
He is facing decades in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 3, 2022.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Man accused of shooting rival drug dealer in front of kid faces prison in NY, feds say."
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