High-Ranking Member of “Black Rain” Drug Crew Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for His Involvement in Three Cold Case Murders

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Jerome Jones, also known as “Sha,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis to 30 years’ imprisonment for his role in the 1991 murder of Oscar Flow and the 1992 murders of Robert Arroyo and Dorothy Taylor—all related to Jones’ narcotics trafficking operation.  Jones pleaded guilty in August 2024. 

John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Leslie R. Backschies, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

“Jones now faces decades in prison for his role in a violent drug organization and for several vicious killings committed within less than one year.  His sentence is a reminder that no matter how much time has passed, my Office and our law enforcement partners will not rest until murderers like the defendant are held accountable and justice is served for their victims,” stated United States Attorney Durham.   

Mr. Durham expressed his thanks to the FBI and the NYPD for their outstanding investigative work and the Queens District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.

Jones was a high-ranking member of “Black Rain,” a Queen-based drug trafficking organization that sold narcotics at several locations on Rockaway Boulevard in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  The organization was responsible for poisoning the community with massive quantities of various drugs: heroin sold as “Black Rain,” cocaine sold as “White Lightning,” and crack sold as “Thunder.”  In the early 1990s, a single Black Rain drug spot brought in more than $10,000 per day in drug sales. To protect its profitable operation and to punish those who crossed its leaders, Black Rain members committed multiple acts of violence, including murders.

In December 1991, Jones murdered Oscar Flow in Springfield Gardens, Queens, after he learned that Flow had stolen from one of Black Rain’s drug spots and that the victim’s sneaker matched a muddy footprint on the roof of the location that had been robbed.  Jones and a co-conspirator shot Flow multiple times.  Jones later boasted to an underling that Flow got “six in the head” for stealing from Black Rain.

In September 1992, Robert Arroyo was murdered in the vicinity of 128^th Street and Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park, Queens, where Jones managed a drug spot.  Jones recruited and paid two co-conspirators to kill Arroyo, who Jones suspected was a drug trafficking competitor and a police informant.  In their first attempt, the recruits mistakenly shot and seriously wounded another man they incorrectly believed to be Arroyo.  That victim survived.  The hit team finally located Arroyo on a crowded street and shot him repeatedly, killing him.

In November 1992, Jones again paid a co-conspirator to murder Dorothy Taylor, who the defendant blamed for having a Black Rain drug spot shut down by law enforcement when she failed to pay the rent and city marshals padlocked the apartment.  Taylor was shot to the death in the driveway of her home by the co-conspirator.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Tanya Hajjar, Emily J. Dean, Lindsey R. Oken, and Raffaela S. Belizaire are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Theodore Rader.

The Defendant:

JEROME JONES (also known as “Sha”)
Age: 60
West Virginia

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-54 (NGG)