L.E.S. “Up The Hill” Crew Faces Attempted Murder, Weapons Charges

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch recently announced the indictment of seven individuals allegedly of the Lower East Side-based “Up The Hill” (“UTH”) crew for allegedly conspiring to possess illegal firearms and murder rivals between June 2024 and December 2025. The defendants allegedly committed seven different shootings, injuring a bystander and endangering many others.

In total, they are collectively charged with 33 counts, including various counts of Attempted Murder, Assault and Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

“The defendants,” said D.A. Bragg. “used social media to provoke rivals, glorify gun violence and escalate tensions, fueling a dangerous cycle of retaliation.”

As alleged in court documents and statements made on the record, “UTH” defendants all have family or social ties to the Lower East Side. One of its main rivals, the “Down The Hill” (“DTH”) crew, mainly operates in NYCHA’s Wald Houses and Baruch Houses.

To assert their status, the defendants allegedly conspired to obtain firearms in order to shoot their rivals.To further the conspiracy, the defendants allegedly coordinated the purchasing and exchange of firearms via text messages and group chats. As alleged, they also used social media to post videos depicting themselves with guns and to taunt and intimidate rivals.

Among the allegations in the indictment are:

On June 26, 2024, at approximately 2:57 a.m., Sincere McClain, 19, and three co-conspirators left a building near Montgomery Street and Madison Street and traveled to “DTH” territory, where they vandalized a candlelight memorial for a deceased member of “DTH.” At 3:21 a.m., McClaim and the co-conspirators went to East 6th Street and FDR Drive, where the co-conspirators fired over 20 shots, striking a bystander in the lower left leg and causing other bystanders to flee for safety. As McClaim and the co-conspirators fled the scene, McClain posted an Instagram story taunting “DTH,” stating, “why ya running.”

The following day, on June 27, 2024, at approximately 3:05 a.m., McClain posted a video to Instagram showing himself and co-conspirators kicking and throwing candles from the candlelight memorial for the same deceased “DTH” crew member while McClain visibly carried a gun in his waistband.

On August 22, 2024, at approximately 10:50 p.m., McClain, Jahlik Edmonds, and two co-conspirators met at a building near Montgomery Street and Madison Street where they changed into dark clothing. McClain, Edmonds and the co-conspirators traveled to “DTH” territory, near East 10th Street and Avenue D. At approximately 11:28 p.m., McClain and a co-conspirator each shot at an individual riding a scooter. The following day, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Edmonds and a co-conspirator appeared in an Instagram story in which they antagonized “DTH” by referring to deceased rivals and said “I don’t even know who to smoke.”

On August 29, 2024, at approximately 10:46 p.m., Edmond, McClain and a co-conspirator met at a building near Rutgers Street and Madison Street and eventually rode a Citi bike to “DTH” territory. At 11:39 p.m., they got off the bike and McClain fired shots towards a rival.