Hugo Rodriguez, also known as “Juice,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken for his role as the leader of the Own Every Dollar (OED) gang, a violent subset of the Trinitarios based in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The announcement was made by Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“Too many New York neighborhoods are plagued by gang violence and drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “New Yorkers deserve better. The women and men of our Office will continue to target gun violence and drug trafficking.”
According to court documents and statements, Rodriguez led OED during a period marked by serious crimes including five murders, over ten attempted murders, several robberies, and control of a large-scale drug operation that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine.
Rodriguez previously served time for state convictions related to a shooting and possessing contraband while incarcerated. After being released on parole, he tried to murder a rival gang member in broad daylight on August 12, 2021, in Washington Heights. He also committed an armed robbery on February 14, 2022—where a victim was pistol-whipped—and continued trafficking narcotics while on parole.
Since his arrest on August 1, 2022, Rodriguez has been held in federal custody. During this period he faced sanctions for fighting in prison, tested positive for methamphetamine use, and was found with an 11-inch shiv. Additionally, he was prosecuted separately by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for assaulting another inmate.
Rodriguez’s sentence includes five years of supervised release following his prison term.
Jay Clayton recognized the efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies including the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Bronx District Attorney’s Office, Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, New York State Police and NYPD Task Force Officers assigned to his office.
The case was managed by the Narcotics Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Kushner, Kevin Mead, Ashley C. Nicolas and Alexandra Messiter leading the prosecution.
