A Gorilla Stone Mafia gangster nicknamed “Tragedy” has been convicted of murdering two Staten Island rivals, one of whom was shot in the head while sleeping next to his girlfriend.
Suspect John Peña, 32, appeared to admit to two 2021 murders in rap lyrics he wrote from his jail cell. “When I put my brain on the sheets, I felt like the Grim Reaper,” Peña said in a statement from U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.
Peña killed Mark Bajandas and Francisco Gonzalez while leading the Gorilla Stone Mafia, a subgroup of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation and Bloods street gangs, Peace said.
“The evidence demonstrates that Peña was intent on exacting revenge on his rivals and maintaining his position as leader of the Gorilla Stone Mafia by any means necessary,” Peace said in a statement.
“Murdering a man as he slept in his bed and then shooting another man with 12 bullets is a shocking example of Peña's callousness,” he continued. “With today's sentence, he will spend the rest of his life in prison for the extreme violence he has inflicted on the Staten Island community and his direct involvement in drug trafficking.”
The group was based out of Stapleton House, a public housing development on the island.
A federal jury in Brooklyn found Pena, also known as “Tragedy,” “Don Trag,” “Last Don” and “Money Bags,” guilty of racketeering and racketeering-aiding murder, as well as multiple firearms and drug-related offenses.
Federal authorities said the conviction means Peña faces up to life in prison.
Courtroom evidence
Peña was accused of shooting former gang member and rival Bajan Das, also known as “Drama,” 12 times at close range on March 10, 2021, following a memorial service for another fallen gang member.
Three months later, on the night of June 22, 2021, Peña shot Gonzalez three times in the head while he was sleeping next to his ex-girlfriend, according to federal investigators.
Peña wrote the dark lyrics that police later discovered while sitting in the Metropolitan Jail awaiting trial.
“Fuck, I turn all my enemies into ghosts / Francisco, I mix them with N/Mark/A…Shhh / Gotta calm down…They don't know / How I'm feeling lately / Just like the Grim Reaper / When I find them I'll take their soul,” he wrote.
He also appeared to take responsibility for Gonzalez's murder, saying, “I left his brains on the sheets. What the hell were you thinking?”
Federal investigators say Peña was also involved in selling marijuana, crack and heroin.
“Gang activity, particularly illegal gun possession and indiscriminate street shootings, instills fear in the daily lives of New Yorkers,” NYPD Interim Commissioner Tom Donlon said in a statement.
“It is vital that we and our law enforcement partners continue to target and dismantle these criminal groups and work to prevent the violence that often accompanies their operations.”
