Members of a gang calling itself the “Uptown Gunners” were taken down in a sweep this morning based on a federal indictment

Members of a gang calling itself the “Uptown Gunners” were taken down in a sweep this morning based on a federal indictment, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said. Carney described the Uptown Gunners as rivals the Four Block Gang, which was the target of federal indictments in May 2011, Carney said. The Uptown Gunners was centered in the Central State Street neighborhood in Schenectady and also had a presence in Steinmetz Homes, Carney said. A total of 27 people were sought this morning on charges laid out in the federal indictment. The Uptown Gunners gang was mentioned in a December trial of a Bradley Street man accused of attempting to shoot another man on Furman Street. The prosecutor in that case identified defendant Kevin McGough as a member of the Uptown Gunners and told a jury the shooting was related to the gang. McGough was among those indicted today. He was convicted on weapons charges and was sentenced in January to up to 15 years in state prison. State prison records list his current status as “out to court.” Present at this afternoon’s press conference were U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Carney and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Clifford C. Holly. The federal case against the Four Block gang, made public in May 2011, was spearheaded by the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. Carney had asked federal authorities to investigate. Police closed in on the Four Block Gang following the high-profile suicides of four teenage Schenectady girls in 2009. Investigators later determined that three of the suicides were a result of harassment by gang members. The May 2011 Four Block indictment also referred to a “rival” gang, but did not identify it.

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