How YMBAPE The "Supreme Bully" Got 30 Years In Prison For Murder For Hire

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of ANTHONY LOPEZ, aka YMBAPE, 34, to 28 ½ years-to-life in state prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit a retaliatory murder, which resulted in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old James Weeks, an innocent bystander, in July 2019. A New York State Supreme Court jury found LOPEZ guilty on all counts, including one count of Murder in the First Degree and one count of Conspiracy in the Second Degree on December 13, 2024. “Anthony Lopez went to great lengths to seek retribution and bloodshed, and his fixation ultimately led to the death of a completely innocent man,” said District Attorney Bragg. “I hope the significant state prison term that Lopez will serve gives Mr. Weeks’s family a sense of justice and peace. Combatting gun violence continues to be my top priority, and we are laser-focused on shootings involving retribution and retaliation.” As proven at LOPEZ’s trial and as admitted in YOUNG’s guilty plea, LOPEZ, who operated a crew out of NYCHA’s Samuel Gompers Houses, had an ongoing feud with a rival who lived in NYCHA’s Lillian Wald Houses. On April 18, 2019, LOPEZ was shot three times, near Pitt and Delancey Streets, and he believed the rival to be responsible. Following the shooting, LOPEZ began orchestrating a plan to hire someone to murder the rival in a retaliatory shooting. The feud further intensified when LOPEZ began posting about seeking revenge for the shooting on social media. In particular, in April 2019, he posted a picture of himself recovering and captioned it with lyrics from a 50 Cent song, writing, “Better watch how you talk, when you talk about me ‘Cause, I’ll come and take your life away.” A rapper himself, LOPEZ filmed a music video in May 2019 in which he stated, in substance, “Try to come for the streets on drip, you get hit with the streets on grip.” FACEY attempted to purchase a firearm on June 15, 2019, and on June 22, at approximately 3:22 a.m., he texted LOPEZ, offering to murder someone for him for approximately $1,000 or $2,000. LOPEZ accepted FACEY’s offer and both defendants met up a few hours later, as well as a few days later. On July 12, 2019, hours before the fatal shooting, LOPEZ connected with a group of individuals and associates, including VAZQUEZ, through several phone calls and text messages to continue plotting the murder. LOPEZ also met up with the co-defendants prior to the shooting. LOPEZ ordered a taxicab for FACEY, who was dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, so he could meet up with VAZQUEZ and YOUNG in the vicinity of the Gompers Houses. Once FACEY arrived, VAZQUEZ and YOUNG changed into hooded sweatshirts before hailing a taxicab to travel to the Wald Houses. In the early morning hours of July 13, 2019, the defendants arrived in the area behind an apartment building near East Houston Street and Avenue D, and walked by Mr. Weeks, who was hanging out with a group of friends. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Mr. Weeks left his friends, walking towards his car that was parked nearby. From approximately 150 feet away, FACEY fired several shots towards Mr. Weeks. Mr. Weeks was struck in the face by one of the bullets, causing him to fall to the ground. He was eventually transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The defendants fled the scene. Following the fatal shooting, the defendants downloaded the Citizen app to keep tabs on any public reports about the incident. Later that afternoon, LOPEZ texted the group of associates a screenshot of an Instagram story posted by the rival about Mr. Weeks’s death, which stated, “INNOCENT BYSTANDER.” FACEY and VAZQUEZ were both arrested in July 2019. YOUNG was arrested in September 2019. LOPEZ called and visited each of the defendants while they were incarcerated and continued to actively plan the murder of his rival, even after killing an innocent bystander. In one instance, on January 17, 2020, LOPEZ called FACEY, who was in jail. During the recorded call, LOPEZ stated, in substance, “This is YM Bape. I got a heavy cash app on someone in your crib right now. I’m not talking about no $100, no $200. Right now, I got four bands on the cash app, right now. I need it to happen, gangster,” and “Four band on the cash app – I send half up front, when it gets done, I send the other half, gangster.” LOPEZ was arrested in December 2021.