On the night of March 7th, 2025, Newark detectives pulled over beside a White Castle near Broadway after an Instagram live showed a 14-year-old boy flashing a ghost gun fitted with a switch. Detective Joseph Ascano barely opened the passenger door before the teenager suddenly raised the pistol sending 29 rounds crashing through parked cars, storefront glass, plus the detectives unmarked vehicle.
Witnesses scattered across Carteret Street while Ascano collapsed inside the car bleeding beside his wounded partner as shell casings covered the pavement around them. Hours later investigators identified the shooter as Rabia Sorry’s son, which instantly changed the entire story for people familiar with Newark’s North Ward.
That was the moment everything finally exploded publicly. But years before that shooting, the streets around North 9th already belonged to the Sorry twins. The block that raised them. Long before Rabia Sorry became a known face around North 9th Street, Newark already carried decades of pressure packed inside cramped neighborhoods where hustling slowly replaced ordinary work for many families trying to survive another month.
After the 1967 riots tore through the city following the beating of cab driver John Smith, entire sections of Newark stayed scarred while businesses disappeared. Factories closed, middle-class residents moved away, plus abandoned buildings started swallowing whole blocks. Those empty properties changed street culture over time after drug crews realized neglected corners created perfect places for stash houses, quick hand-offs, hidden weapons, plus lookouts watching every police cruiser rolling through the neighborhood. By the mid-80s crack
cocaine had spread across Newark so heavily that younger dudes growing up around Roseville, Broadway, Irvington, East Orange, plus surrounding streets often viewed hustling less like crime than another version of employment. That environment slowly created the mentality people later called Brick City culture where survival depended on reputation, alliances, neighborhood loyalty, plus knowing exactly which corners belong to certain crews before accidentally wandering somewhere dangerous
after dark. Older residents still remember blocks where children played basketball during afternoons while heroin customers lined nearby sidewalks waiting for glassine bags before midnight settled over the neighborhood. Uh police patrols weakened across several sections while open-air markets expanded openly causing crews to guard territory almost like corporations protecting storefront property from competitors trying to take customers.
During those years, names like Gutter Rats, Steel Click, Hit Squad Mob, plus NSKG started circulating through Newark hallways, street corners, local parks, county lockups, plus school cafeterias where younger recruits watched older hustlers carrying money, jewelry, expensive jackets, fresh sneakers, plus enough influence to control whole blocks.
While Newark struggled through those years, East Orange was developing its own violent ecosystem just a few minutes away. Although locals preferred calling it Illtown instead of using the city’s actual name. Illtown carried serious respect around northern New Jersey after rap group Naughty by Nature exploded nationally during the early 1990s bringing attention to East Orange streets already bubbling with hustlers, stick-up crews, neighborhood beefs, plus rising blood affiliations.
Somewhere during that same period, two California Bloods connected to Inglewood arrived in East Orange after traveling alongside Naughty by Nature members during tours, eventually introducing local crews to Queen Street Blood traditions imported directly from Los Angeles. Those men became known around Jersey streets as Love plus True while younger neighborhood hustlers quickly absorbed West Coast politics, blood hand signs, territorial codes, plus the hierarchy attached to organized gang structures. That movement eventually
produced Double Two which blended Inglewood together with Illtown into one identity carrying California blood lineage across Newark, plus East Orange neighborhoods already drowning in drug money. Younger recruits treated Double Two differently from ordinary neighborhood crews after hearing stories about direct Queen Street blood connections reaching all the way back toward Los Angeles streets.
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The organization grew fast once local hustlers realized structured gangs offered more protection, more earning opportunities, plus stronger retaliation against rivals trying to interfere with heroin territory. By the mid-1990s, Double Two had transformed from a loose alliance into a disciplined operation carrying ranks, rules, assigned responsibilities, plus enforcement crews willing to shoot people publicly whenever business became threatened.
That structure eventually pushed one man into serious power around Essex County. Although many older Newark residents still remember him first as a talented athlete before gang life swallowed everything else around him. Two Win Butler, better known around Jersey streets as Massacre, became the central figure guiding Double Two through its most violent expansion period while Quadree Trouble Smith operated beside him, helping organize territory throughout Newark plus East Orange. Butler reportedly carried enough
charisma during his younger years that music industry opportunities once surrounded him before heroin profits started pulling him deeper into street life, offering faster money plus immediate authority. Under Butler’s leadership, Double Two organized heroin distribution almost like a business operation, assigning shifts to dealers, maintaining territory through intimidation, plus dispatching shooters whenever rivals challenged movement around specific corners.
Witnesses later described assassination crews traveling toward addresses carrying direct instructions about who needed punishment, which eventually turned Essex County into a battleground involving retaliations, executions, robberies, plus fear spreading through neighborhoods already struggling financially. During those years, younger hustlers learned quickly that surviving around 22 required discipline, silence, plus willingness to follow orders, regardless of how ugly situations became afterward.
Federal investigators eventually started building major cases against 22 leadership after violence connected to the organization kept escalating across New Jersey throughout the late 1990s plus early 2000s. Authorities linked gang members to murders, attempted killings, heroin and trafficking operations, arson cases, robberies, plus gun trafficking involving firearms purchased through intermediaries working outside New Jersey.
One horrifying case described a man murdered directly before his young child after speaking publicly against gang activity, which showed prosecutors exactly how aggressively 22 protected its reputation around Newark streets. Then United States Attorney Chris Christie helped launch a massive RICO prosecution during 2003 that targeted Butler, Quadry Smith, plus numerous associates connected to the organization’s heroin network plus violent enforcement structure.
By 2007, Butler received 30 years inside federal prison, while Quadry Smith received another lengthy sentence, leaving many Newark residents believing 22 finally collapsed after authorities dismantled older leadership. That prediction turned out badly wrong once younger hustlers quietly started rebuilding scattered operations across Newark while surviving veterans still carried old blood relationships from previous years.
Even though prison swallowed many established names, the drug corners never disappeared afterward since addicts still lined sidewalks daily searching for heroin stamped inside familiar glassine envelopes. Newark crews adapted quickly after indictments weakened older structures causing smaller factions to operate independently while still claiming loyalty toward 22 traditions spreading through Essex County streets.
Some veterans stayed influential after prison releases while younger members filled empty spaces created when shootings, arrests, overdoses, plus indictments removed previous leaders from neighborhoods permanently. Around that same period, while older men disappeared into courtrooms plus federal facilities across New Jersey, two women from Newark’s North Ward quietly watched everything unfolding around them while learning exactly how power moved through Brick City streets.
The twins start building. By the late 2000s, plenty of Newark hustlers already recognized Rabia Soy’s face long before statewide indictments turned her name into front-page news across New Jersey television stations. She grew up around the North Ward while older blood members controlled nearby corners, meaning she watched generations of street politics unfold directly outside apartment windows, corner stores, plus school routes stretching through Roseville.
Family rumors floated through Newark for years claiming several Soy relatives already carried reputations involving gun cases, narcotics movement, plus neighborhood disputes reaching back before Rabia became active herself. Names like Bashir Soy plus Safiullah Soy circulated quietly around North 9th Street while local residents described the family as deeply tied into whatever business operated around that section of Newark.
Even before investigators publicly connected the Twin Star double two leadership, older neighborhood residents already understood certain blocks moved carefully whenever the Soy family appeared nearby. Rabia started attracting police attention repeatedly during the early 2010s after drug raids linked her to cocaine distribution operations running through Newark’s North Ward, although arrests never seemed strong enough to remove her permanently from the neighborhood.
Most people caught inside repeated narcotics cases usually disappeared afterward through prison sentences, addiction, relocation, or violent retaliation. Yet Rabia somehow kept returning to North 9th Street carrying more confidence each time authorities processed her. Residents started noticing that police pressure almost elevated her reputation instead of damaging it after younger hustlers interpreted survival as proof somebody carried serious backing around the streets.
Those repeated encounters slowly transformed Rabiyah from another neighborhood dealer into somebody viewed almost like permanent North Ward infrastructure, similar to abandoned storefronts, corner memorials, plus dice games surviving every police sweep. Around that same period, Khadijah remained closely attached to her sister while neighborhood gossip painted the twins almost like mirrored personalities, handling business together without fully trusting outsiders around them.
Female leadership still remained unusual inside blood culture throughout Newark during those years, especially within organizations carrying older West Coast structures originally designed around male authority, rank, plus violent enforcement crews. Older gang members allegedly underestimated the twins initially after viewing women mainly as stash holders, girlfriends, transporters, or occasional facilitators instead of people directing territory themselves.
Rabiyah reportedly understood that weakness quickly, which allowed her to build quietly while louder personalities attracted indictments, robberies, plus unnecessary attention from rival crews trying to challenge authority publicly. Several Newark residents later claimed the twins avoided reckless spotlight chasing during earlier years while carefully building relationships through favors, loyalty, intimidations, plus reliable access to heroin circulating around North 9th Street.
Younger neighborhood hustlers started realizing Rabiyah carried unusual influence after conflicts got resolved around her corner without much discussion afterward, which slowly convinced many people she possessed stronger backing than outsiders first assumed. Stories later collected from North Ward residents described relatives plus trusted associates handling different responsibilities around the operation long before investigators mapped the organization officially through surveillance plus wiretaps. Some people
allegedly worked as runners carrying packaged heroin between locations, while others monitored nearby intersections as watching for detectives, unmarked vehicles, unfamiliar customers, plus rivals drifting too close toward active corners. Bashir Soule reportedly acted as somebody trusted around movement logistics, while Safiullah Soule appeared connected to distribution activity involving neighborhood associates tied into Double Two structure surviving after earlier federal crackdowns. Those layers
mattered heavily around Newark streets, where crews rarely survived long without family loyalty protecting operations from informants, internal theft, plus undercover pressure building quietly over months. Rabiah allegedly preferred surrounding herself with familiar people carrying personal loyalty instead of random recruits chasing quick money before disappearing once serious danger arrived nearby.
During those same years, Nicole Jones gradually entered the twins’ inner circle while remaining less visible publicly than younger hustlers operating directly around North 9th Street. Jones eventually became one of the most trusted figures surrounding Rabiah after their Elizabeth residence later transformed into a packaging location connected to heroin distribution moving throughout Newark.
Neighbors around Elizabeth later described Jones as somebody frequently present beside the twins while vehicles constantly arrived outside the property during strange hours throughout late evenings plus early mornings. Prosecutors would later describe Jones as an advisor inside the organization.
Although people familiar with Newark street dynamics understood that role meant far more than ordinary friendship around drug operations carrying serious money. Somebody trusted near packaging locations, firearms, stash inventory, plus daily movement usually occupied important territory inside the organization regardless of what official paperwork eventually called them afterward.
As older 02 leadership disappeared through prison sentences connected to the Chris Christie era prosecutions, smaller crews around Newark kept restructuring while younger hustlers searched constantly for stable leadership controlling profitable corners. That vacuum created opportunities throughout Essex County after experienced figures either vanished into federal custody or lost influence while trying to rebuild their reputations after release from prison facilities.
Rabiah quietly filled portions of that empty space around North 9th Street while maintaining enough consistency that customers, runners, plus neighborhood addicts always knew exactly where business operated daily. Her influence kept growing through repetition rather than loud declarations after people noticed she remained standing while countless others caught cases, overdosed, got robbed, switched neighborhoods, or landed inside cemetery plots scattered throughout Newark.
And around those same blocks, Hadiah reportedly handled conversations differently than her sister while carrying more visible confidence publicly, which helped strengthen the twins’ growing image around younger blood affiliates watching closely nearby. Over time, local residents started separating respect from fear whenever conversations drifted toward the Sorrey twins as both emotions operated differently around Newark streets despite outsiders often confusing them together.
Certain neighborhood figures earned respect through helping families, resolving disputes, supporting funerals, or protecting blocks from reckless violence. While fear came from unpredictability plus willingness toward retaliation whenever somebody crossed important boundaries. Rabiah allegedly blended both qualities carefully enough that many people avoided direct conflict entirely.
Especially after stories circulated involving debts, threats, plus punishments tied to missing drug proceeds around North 9th Street. Particularly once they saw expensive vehicles, designer clothes, jewelry, plus steady money surrounding the twins despite constant police scrutiny around Newark.
That image mattered heavily inside neighborhoods where surviving visibly often carried greater influence than talking loudly about street credibility nobody actually witnessed firsthand. By the early 2020s, North 9th Street increasingly revolved around Rabiyah Sorey’s presence after years of surviving raids, maintaining territory, organizing loyal people, plus carefully building influence through Newark’s shifting gang landscape.
Newark hustlers entering the streets already understood the twins possessed real authority before ever meeting them personally, largely after hearing older neighborhood stories tied to Double 2, previous federal cases, plus violent consequences surrounding unpaid debts. Meanwhile, surviving veterans from Newark’s older blood era watched quietly while women gradually occupied territory once controlled almost exclusively by men carrying prison histories stretching back toward the mid-80s crack generation.
That transition happened slowly enough that many outsiders barely noticed until investigators finally connected the dots years later through shootings, wiretaps, surveillance footage, plus social media threats spreading directly from North 9th Street. By then, Rabiyah no longer looked like another Newark dealer surviving police pressure temporarily since she had already become the central figure controlling one of the city’s most active corners.
North 9th Street becomes a machine. By 2023, the 200 block of North 9th Street no longer operated like an ordinary Newark drug corner after Rabiyah Sorey transformed the area into a disciplined open-air market moving heroin, fentanyl, plus cocaine almost non-stop throughout entire days. Residents around Roseville described mornings beginning quietly before sellers slowly appeared outside apartment buildings, nearby storefronts, vacant lots, plus sidewalks where addicts already waited carrying folded cash inside coat
pockets. Detectives later discovered the operation worked through three organized shifts that rotated continuously, allowing business activity to continue during afternoons, overnight hours, early mornings, plus weekends without major interruption slowing distribution. While ordinary people passed through North Ward heading toward work, school, church services, bus stops, or corner stores, the Souriy operation quietly functioned almost like an underground company planted directly inside Newark streets. That structure
eventually attracted younger hustlers searching for stable money, while simultaneously drawing dangerous personalities willing to protect territory through intimidation, shootings, plus public threats. Most mornings reportedly start in Elizabeth at the residence where Bia shared alongside Nicole Jones, where investigators later discovered heroin packaging supplies, digital scales, rubber bands, tape, glassine envelopes, plus large quantities of narcotics prepared for Newark distribution routes. Prosecutors
eventually described that location as a production facility where raw heroin got processed into smaller street-level quantities carrying brand names addicts recognized instantly around Newark neighborhoods. Stamped bags labeled Exit 5, Route 21, Passion, plus Body Bag started circulating heavily throughout the North Ward while customers learned certain names represented a stronger product than competing corners nearby.
Those branded heroin envelopes mattered heavily around Newark after addicts often chased familiar stamps associated with reliable potency, causing certain corners to attract long lines stretching along sidewalks during busy hours. Nicole Jones allegedly helped supervise portions of that packaging process, while trusted associates transported prepared inventory back toward North 9th Street before each shift officially started operating.
The organization depended heavily on lower-ranking sellers known around Newark streets as creepers. Although prosecutors later described their responsibilities almost like scheduled employees assigned to a rotating duties throughout entire days. Some workers handled morning distribution while others operated afternoon traffic before nighttime sellers replaced them around corners attracting heavier movement after dark settled across Newark neighborhoods.
Investigators claimed creepers picked up narcotics directly from trusted distributors before returning profits to supervisors monitoring activity throughout the block constantly during each shift. Those younger sellers often stood outside in groups watching approaching vehicles carefully while nearby lookouts monitored unfamiliar pedestrians, undercover officers plus anybody lingering too long around stash apartments hidden throughout the neighborhood.
Several former residents later explained that people living nearby eventually recognized which teenagers worked certain shifts despite never discussing operations publicly around outsiders. Capable of cooperating with investigators afterward. Latif Erle Holly Holly gradually emerged as one of the key figures keeping those daily systems functioning smoothly.
While Rabia handled broader authority surrounding the organization itself. Holly allegedly coordinated deliveries, settled disputes involving missing narcotics, replaced unreliable sellers quickly plus maintained communication between distributors operating around Newark plus Elizabeth locations connected to the operation.
Detectives later described him almost like a floor manager supervising activity while making certain every seller stayed supplied during busy periods attracting steady customer traffic around North 9th Street. Alongside Holly stood older figures including Eugene G Funk Sparrow plus William Walton two longtime Newark Bloods carrying enough street history that younger members treated their advice seriously during disputes threatening business operations.
Sparrow especially carried influence after surviving earlier gang eras stretching back before the twins fully controlled territory, which allowed him to bridge older double two traditions together with younger enforcers entering Newark streets during newer generations. That enforcement layer became essential once money started flowing steadily through North 9th Street, particularly after rival crews, unpaid associates, plus reckless customers created constant opportunities for conflict erupting publicly around the
block. Jaquan Streeter Dozier, Inari Hobbs, Jonathan Young and Harris, Amir Reynolds, Jasmine Kaylee Henderson, plus Karen Johnson allegedly formed part of the organization’s violent backbone, while prosecutors later connected several to shootings plus firearm activity tied directly to Rabiah’s network.
The responsibilities reportedly included protecting stash locations, collecting debts, escorting trusted members into dangerous situations, plus responding aggressively whenever somebody challenged authority surrounding the operation publicly. Kaylee Henderson became especially significant after investigators connected her to the same Springfield Armory handgun later tied to multiple shootings, including incidents involving Rabiah directly handling the weapon during public confrontations.
Around Newark streets, people slowly started understanding arguments tied to the twins rarely stayed verbal long after enforcers began surrounding situations involving unpaid debts, disrespect, missing narcotics, or territorial disputes. The operation gradually expanded beyond Newark while maintaining connections through Elizabeth, East Orange, Rahway, Somerset, plus even Brooklyn associates interacting with people tied into double two structures surviving throughout New Jersey.
Vehicles moved constantly between locations carrying narcotics, cash, firearms, plus different members handling responsibilities depending on which city required attention during certain periods. Investigators later discovered some associates slept temporarily inside stash apartments near North 9th Street, while others traveled from surrounding cities specifically for enforcement work tied to violent incidents.
Newark detectives eventually realized the organization no longer resembled isolated neighborhood hustling after surveillance started revealing coordinated movement patterns involving multiple counties, plus numerous individuals communicating constantly around active operations. Those wider connections also strengthened the twins’ influence after younger Newark hustlers viewed outside affiliations almost like proof their corner carried regional importance instead of ordinary neighborhood activity.
Violence eventually became normal management practice around North 9th Street after missing profits, unpaid debts, plus internal disputes increasingly led toward intimidation, public beatings, firearm threats, plus shootings connected directly to the organization’s leadership structure. Investigators later uncovered text conversations suggesting that at least one female associate suffered brutal punishment after allegedly withholding narcotics proceeds belonging to the operation.
Rumors around Newark described people getting dragged toward apartments, stripped publicly, pistol-whipped, or threatened directly outside the corner whenever accusations involving missing money surfaced around trusted supervisors. Several residents later claimed Rabia occasionally held what locals called court outside North 9th Street, where disputes involving sellers, addicts, plus lower-ranking associates supposedly got handled publicly while nearby crowds watched carefully without
interfering. Whether every rumor proved accurate mattered less than the atmosphere surrounding those stories after fear itself started helping maintain discipline around the block. That environment changed neighborhood behavior steadily while ordinary residents adapted around the organization carefully rather than risking unnecessary attention from people controlling one of Newark’s corners.
Parents redirected children through different walking routes, while nearby businesses adjusted routines around peak drug traffic hours as attracting addicts, sellers, lookouts, plus armed enforcers standing openly around sidewalks. Longtime residents reportedly avoided staring at disputes unfolding publicly after enough people witnessed confrontations escalating rapidly into violence without warning around North 9th Street.
Addicts lined sidewalks daily waiting for branded heroin, while younger hustlers studied operations carefully hoping to eventually enter profitable positions surrounding the twins growing empire. By late 2024, the organization had grown so visible through shootings, social media threats, narcotics traffic, plus public intimidation that investigators quietly started treating North 9th Street less like another Newark corner, while increasingly viewing it as a full criminal enterprise becoming impossible to ignore much longer. Everybody starts
getting shot. By spring 2023, violence surrounding North 9th Street stopped looking like ordinary Newark street tension after conflicts connected to the Sorey organization started ending with bullets instead of arguments. On April 19th, 2023, Rabiah Sorey plus Nicole Jones were traveling through Irvington near the 900 block of Grove Street when some kind of confrontation erupted involving another vehicle during traffic.
Investigators later believed the situation escalated after words were exchanged between occupants. While tensions kept building instead of cooling down once vehicles stopped moving. Prosecutors eventually alleged Rabiah responded by contacting armed associates to arrive separately before shots suddenly tore through the area striking one victim during the chaos while terrified drivers scrambled away from the intersection.
That incident introduced investigators to a weapon that later became central throughout nearly every major violent event tied to the organization during the following year. Authorities eventually identified that firearm as a Springfield Armory XD 30 subcompact handgun. Although nobody outside law enforcement realized yet how many shootings would eventually connect back to that same pistol afterward.
At first the Irvington attack looked like another reckless Newark area dispute spilling into gunfire after tempers exploded publicly during an argument involving street connected personalities. Behind the scenes, however, investigators started collecting shell casings while surveillance footage quietly captured movements surrounding people already appearing around other narcotics investigations linked to North 9th Street.
Those details mattered later after detectives realized several violent incidents involving the Souriy operation shared overlapping names, overlapping vehicles, overlapping associates, plus eventually overlapping ballistics evidence. Meanwhile, people operating around Rabia’s corner allegedly started understanding that disputes involving money or disrespect no longer carried predictable outcomes once enforcers began appearing quickly whenever tension surfaced publicly.
That atmosphere turned darker during July 2023 after a female associate identified publicly only through initials as IH got shot directly in the face near 4th Avenue plus North 9th Street. Detectives later discovered IH reportedly worked around the organization while handling narcotics proceeds connected to street level sales operating under Rabia’s supervision.
According to prosecutors, suspicion started building after money connected to distribution allegedly disappeared causing tensions inside the operation itself instead of between outside rivals competing for territory. Around Newark streets, older hustlers sometimes call that process taxing somebody out meaning punishment gets delivered publicly after somebody supposedly steals profits, loses inventory, or withholds earnings owed toward leadership.
IH survived the shooting, although people close to North 9th Street reportedly became terrified afterward once they realized even insiders connected to the organization could suddenly end up bleeding across Newark sidewalks over financial disputes. Fear started spreading quietly throughout the crew after the IH shooting.
Largely after younger associates realized loyalty alone no longer guaranteed safety around the organization’s inner circle. Several Newark residents later claimed lower-ranking sellers became noticeably nervous during collections involving missing narcotics proceeds, while others allegedly disappeared temporarily after hearing rumors surrounding punishments tied toward unpaid money.
Detectives eventually recovered critical evidence connected to the incident through Eugene G-Funk Sparrow. After his separate August 2024 arrest, placed investigators directly inside his phone records plus private conversations. Inside that device, authorities reportedly found screenshots involving text exchanges between Rabiah plus IH discussing the shooting itself in ways prosecutors later argued connected violence directly to missing drug proceeds.
That discovery became devastating for investigators after it suggested shootings tied to North 9th Street no longer represented random street violence, but increasingly looked like organized discipline tied to business enforcement. While paranoia kept spreading internally around the operation, instability also started surfacing publicly between the twins themselves during spring 2024 after tensions exploded directly outside North 9th Street.
On April 21st, 2024, surveillance cameras reportedly captured Rabiah plus Hadiah fighting physically in the middle of the street while crowds gathered nearby watching one of Newark’s most feared pairs lose control publicly. Witnesses later described screaming, pushing, plus complete chaos unfolding before Jasmine.
Kali Henderson allegedly handed Rabiyah the same Springfield handgun investigators already connected to earlier shootings. Instead of backing away after grabbing the pistol, Rabiyah reportedly pointed it toward surrounding bystanders before firing directly into the pavement while people scattered away from the scene in panic.
Around Newark neighborhoods, moments like that usually carry important messages afterward. Since publicly firing into the ground often means somebody wants crowds terrified without necessarily targeting one specific person immediately. That confrontation also exposed deeper cracks inside the organization after residents started realizing the twins themselves no longer appeared completely unified despite controlling one of Newark’s strongest corners.
Some locals later whispered that disagreements involving money, loyalty, younger associates, plus outside relationships had already created tension privately before the street fight finally exploded publicly during April 2024. Kali Henderson’s role during the incident also increased the tension around her name after investigators started noticing the same firearm repeatedly appearing around violent situations involving Rabiyah directly.
Henderson already carried a reputation around Newark circles as somebody heavily involved in enforcement activity. Although her connection to the gun later tied her closer to multiple shootings unfolding during the following months. Those overlapping incidents slowly convinced investigators that the violence surrounding North 9th Street operated through coordinated patterns rather than isolated moments fueled only by anger.
Only weeks later, the organization created another problem after social media videos tied to Rabiyah started spreading rapidly through Newark streets during May 2024. In one recording, Rabiyah stood beside a man identified as KJ, the brother of somebody prosecutors later identified only through initials as KW, while threatening him publicly in footage later viewed repeatedly online.
Prosecutors claimed KJ appeared trapped beside Rabiyah while she mocked him directly and threatened his brother openly. Plus, she humiliated him publicly while discussing money supposedly sitting inside his pockets from garbage truck work. More videos surfaced afterward showing Rabiah plus unidentified associates standing outside apartment complexes believed to be connected to KW.
Turning social media into another weapon extending intimidation beyond North 9th Street itself. Younger newer hustlers reportedly shared those clips constantly online afterward, while others interpreted the videos as proof Rabiah could threaten rivals publicly without fearing retaliation from police or competing crews.
That digital humiliation campaign changed street dynamics around Newark after gang conflicts increasingly started blending physical violence together with internet intimidation designed toward embarrassing rivals before entire neighborhoods. Older blood veterans reportedly dislike those tactics after viewing social media exposure as reckless behavior attracting unnecessary police scrutiny around already active narcotics investigations.
Younger members, however, treated online visibility differently after viral clips boosted reputations rapidly while spreading fear faster than traditional street rumors ever could around Newark neighborhoods. Detectives monitoring those posts quietly started connecting social media threats together with surveillance footage, previous shootings, plus known associates surrounding Rabiah’s growing operation.
By summer 2024, investigators increasingly believed North 9th Street represented not merely a violent corner, but an organized criminal network openly displaying intimidation tactics online while continuing armed enforcement physically around Newark. That spiral reached another dangerous point on July 22nd, 2024 after Rabiah allegedly traveled toward North 12th Street alongside Jaquan Streeter Dozier, Jasmine Henderson, Inari Hobbs, plus Karen Johnson before another shooting erupted publicly.
Surveillance footage later showed a man identified as AC collapsing after gunfire struck him multiple times while nearby people sprinted away from the scene attempting to avoid incoming rounds. Cameras reportedly captured AC crawling desperately down a driveway while blood streamed heavily from his wounded arm during the terrifying aftermath surrounding the attack.
Detectives later connected shell casings from that shooting to the exact same Springfield Armory handgun already tied to Irvington, the North 9th Street conflict, plus Rabiah firing publicly during the confrontation involving Hadia. Once ballistics experts confirmed the matches officially, investigators realized they were no longer tracking scattered incidents involving connected people since one weapon kept reappearing repeatedly around the same violent network spreading through Newark plus surrounding cities.
The family starts collapsing while investigators kept connecting shootings, weapons, plus narcotics activity to North 9th Street. Another dangerous situation quietly developed inside Rabiah Sorey’s own family during late 2024 plus early 2025. Her 14-year-old son had reportedly arrived from Georgia only months earlier after relatives believed Newark’s streets were becoming too dangerous for him to stay around certain influences permanently.
According to Hadia later speaking publicly, the teenager previously played football plus basketball before arriving in Newark. Although neighborhood pressure swallowed that lifestyle quickly once he entered the North Ward environment surrounding the twins. Within months, authorities allegedly connected him to robberies, street conflicts, plus increasing contact with younger Newark kids already obsessed with switches, ghost guns, Instagram live videos, plus fast reputations earned through reckless violence. Older Newark residents
later claimed the teenager started moving around older hustlers almost immediately after arriving, which placed him directly inside the same culture already consuming North 9th Street daily. By early 2025, ghost guns had become common throughout Newark neighborhoods after teenagers realized homemade pistols with switches brought instant attention online while remaining harder for police to trace afterward.
Younger dudes filmed themselves constantly holding modified weapons during live streams, rap videos, apartment gatherings, plus late-night sidewalk hangouts where social media validation started blending dangerously with real street politics. Detectives monitoring gang-related accounts reportedly noticed Rabia’s son flashing a Glock-style ghost gun fitted with an illegal switch shortly before March 7th, 2025, which immediately triggered concern inside Newark intelligence units tracking violent crews. That weapon transformed a
semi-automatic handgun into something functioning almost like a miniature machine gun capable of firing dozens of rounds within seconds once somebody squeezed the trigger. Around Newark streets, carrying switched ghost guns started becoming status symbols among younger kids trying to imitate older gang figures they watched online every day.
That culture exploded violently on March 7th, 2025, after Newark detectives tracked the teenager near Broadway plus Carteret Street following the Instagram live footage showing him displaying the modified firearm publicly. Detective Joseph Ascoughna plus another officer approached the teenager near the White Castle area believing they could stop him before something catastrophic unfolded around the crowded neighborhood.
Instead, prosecutors later alleged the teenager opened fire immediately after spotting officers, unleashing 29 rounds while Ascoughna still sat partially inside the unmarked vehicle. Ascoughna died from the attack while another detective suffered severe injuries involving his liver plus intestines during the terrifying ambush that shook Newark completely afterward.
Once police confirmed the shooter belonged directly to Rabiah Sorrey’s family, investigators already building narcotics cases around North 9th Street suddenly found themselves dealing with something that was drawing national attention. The fallout intensified days later after Hadija Sorrey started speaking publicly instead of avoiding cameras while outrage surrounding Detective Askounis’ killing spread across New Jersey.
During one interview near North 9th Street, Hadija reportedly told reporters she had the whole North behind her while openly discussing neighborhood influence plus claiming she earned roughly $4,000 daily through drug sales. Those comments shocked many people watching afterward since Newark had already buried a young detective while federal attention surrounding the case kept growing heavier every hour.
Hadija also discussed her nephew publicly claiming she warned relatives about bringing him to Newark after violence around the city allegedly changed him rapidly during recent months. Rather than calming public anger, those interviews created even more backlash after critics accused the twins of treating gang culture almost casually despite shootings, narcotics activity, plus a murdered detective already tied to the family publicly.
Around Newark, conversations started shifting from ordinary gang violence toward broader questions involving parenting, neighborhood influence, plus how younger kids become absorbed into violent organizations surrounding older relatives. Residents around North Ward debated whether Rabiah’s son represented another reckless teenager shaped by Newark streets or evidence that the twins’ lifestyle had already poisoned younger generations inside their own family.
Meanwhile, videos plus headlines connected to Hadija’s interviews kept circulating online while people argued endlessly about her confidence, her comments about money, plus the obvious lack of fear she displayed publicly. Older Blood veterans reportedly criticized the interviews privately afterward believing the twins had become too visible, too arrogant, plus too careless while already sitting under heavy surveillance from multiple agencies.
Behind the scenes, authorities quietly started preparing aggressive moves against the entire organization after realizing the violence surrounding North 9th Street was now connected directly to a dead detective, armed juveniles, narcotics trafficking, plus increasingly reckless public behavior impossible ignore any longer be ignored.
Federal attention intensified further after interim United States Attorney Alina Habba publicly discussed moving the teenager’s prosecution into federal court despite his age being only 14 years old. Habba argued publicly that gang-affiliated juveniles using automatic weapons against police officers deserved adult-level consequences regardless of how young they appeared afterward.
That statement signaled something important was happening quietly behind the scenes after local narcotics investigations surrounding the twins suddenly evolved into a far larger operation involving federal authorities, intelligence units, plus statewide pressure demanding decisive action. Investigators already tracking wiretaps, shootings, heroin distribution, plus firearms connected to North 9th Street now possessed a politically explosive case tying everything together through one horrifying night near Broadway.
Once that happened, the organization Rabia plus Hadia spent years building across Newark and suddenly stopped looking untouchable while law enforcement prepared to move aggressively against everybody connected to the operation. The raid that broke the crew. 17 days after Detective Joseph S. Conlon was killed near Broadway plus Carteret Street, law enforcement agencies across New Jersey quietly prepared coordinated raids targeting the organization investigators believed operated behind much of the violence surrounding North
9th Street. Before sunrise on March 24th, 2025, Newark Police Intelligence Units joined state investigators, Major Threats Division personnel, Elizabeth police officers, plus New Jersey State Police teams moving simultaneously toward locations spread across Newark, A Elizabeth, East Orange, Rahway, Somerset, plus nearby areas connected to the Soriano operation.
Detectives had already spent months building surveillance files involving heroin distribution, shootings, firearms movement, plus social media threats before Ascona’s murder suddenly accelerated everything into a far larger investigation. Search warrants were executed almost simultaneously after authorities worried members connected to the organization could destroy evidence, move weapons, plus disappear temporarily once arrests started spreading publicly around Newark.
Around North 9th Street, residents reportedly woke suddenly to flashing lights, armored vehicles, officers carrying rifles, plus investigators moving aggressively between apartment buildings tied to the organization. One major focus centered on the Elizabeth residence shared by Rabia Soriano, plus Nicole Jones, which investigators already suspected functioned as the operations narcotics packaging facility long before the raids officially happened.
Inside the house, authorities reportedly recovered 91 g of heroin, roughly $17,000 in cash, scales, packaging materials, rubber bands, tape, plus large quantities of stamped glassine envelopes carrying labels familiar throughout Newark heroin markets. Detectives also seized bags marked Body Bag, Passion, Exit 5, plus Route 21, which prosecutors later argued directly connected the Elizabeth property to the North 9th Street distribution system operating daily around the Roseville section.
Investigators believed narcotics moved constantly between Elizabeth plus Newark while sellers rotated shifts around the corner under supervision from trusted associates tied to Rabia’s organization. Nicole Jones allegedly maintained the residence alongside Rabia, while prosecutors later described her not merely as a bystander, but somebody deeply integrated into operational logistics surrounding packaging plus narcotics movement.
Authorities also recovered firearms connected to multiple investigations unfolding throughout the previous 2 years, including the Springfield Armory XD handgun repeatedly appearing around shootings tied to Rabiah’s network. Ballistics investigators already spent months matching shell casings recovered from Irvington, North 9th Street, plus North 12th Street before finally tracing several incidents back to the same weapon moving repeatedly between associates surrounding the twins.
That gun allegedly connected to April 19th, 2023 road rage shooting. The April 21st, 2024 street confrontation involving Hadia, plus the July 22, 2024 shooting where AC got struck multiple times while surveillance cameras recorded him crawling away bleeding. Around Newark law enforcement circles, detectives reportedly realized early that random street violence rarely leaves such consistent forensic overlap unless one organized group keeps recycling weapons throughout different enforcement actions. Once authorities
physically recovered the handgun during the investigation, prosecutors suddenly possessed a direct chain linking separate violent incidents toward one broader criminal enterprise. Wiretaps quietly became another devastating problem for the organization after investigators captured conversations involving firearms movement, narcotics distribution, plus operational discussions stretching across multiple cities connected to the crew.
Authorities later alleged Rabiah personally directed associates during several recorded calls, including conversations involving the relocation of loaded firearms into storage units once pressure from investigators started intensifying around Newark. Those recordings reportedly gave detectives a clear understanding of how leadership inside the organization function daily, particularly after surveillance had already mapped movement patterns involving vehicles traveling between Newark plus Elizabeth repeatedly.
Meanwhile, social media investigators tracked hostage-style videos, Instagram posts, plus threats involving KW plus KJ, which prosecutors argued demonstrated public intimidation tactics tied directly to the organization’s enforcement culture. By combining digital evidence together with ballistics, narcotic seizures, surveillance footage, plus phone records, authorities slowly built what looked less like scattered criminal behavior while increasingly resembling structured organized crime.
One major breakthrough reportedly came from Eugene G. Funk Sparrow. After his August 2024 arrest, connected investigators to critical phone evidence hidden inside his device. Detectives later discovered screenshots involving conversations between Rabiah plus IH, the female associate shot in the face after allegedly withholding narcotics proceeds connected to North 9th Street sales.
Prosecutors argued those messages revealed direct knowledge surrounding the punishment while strengthening claims that the shootings connected to the organization operated as calculated discipline instead of random personal disputes. Sparrow’s broader communications also helped investigators map relationships between supervisors, enforcers, distributors, plus associates moving around different cities connected to the operation.
Around that point, authorities reportedly stopped viewing the Sarry organization as another Newark drug crew after evidence increasingly showed layered coordination involving narcotics trafficking, firearms movement, violent enforcement, plus intimidation strategies operating through multiple people carrying assigned roles.
Arrests spread quickly throughout New Jersey once warrants started getting executed during the raids, bringing down figures investigators believed occupied different positions throughout the organization’s hierarchy. Latif LA Holly got arrested as authorities described him as a supervisor helping coordinate daily operations around North 9th Street while maintaining narcotics movement between locations.
Jaquan Streaper Dozier, Enari Hobbs, Jasmine Kelly Henderson, Karen Johnson, Amir Reynolds, plus Jonathan Harris also face charges tied to shootings, weapons offenses, plus enforcement activity connected to the organization. William Walton plus Eugene Sparrow represented older blood figures prosecutors described as advisors helping stabilize portions of the operation while younger members handled direct violence around Newark streets.
By targeting numerous people simultaneously instead of arresting isolated sellers individually, investigators aimed toward dismantling the organization’s entire structure before remaining associates could reorganize quickly afterward. On April 22nd, 2025, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin finally stepped before cameras publicly announcing what investigators spent months quietly building behind the scenes.
Platkin revealed authorities charged 26 people connected to the Double Two Queen Street Blood organization operating around Newark’s North Ward while prosecutors stacked 194 total counts involving racketeering, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, conspiracy, terroristic threats, firearms offenses, plus aggravated assaults.
Officials framed the case not as ordinary street dealing but as a coordinated criminal enterprise using violence, intimidation, social media humiliation, plus narcotics distribution to control territory throughout Newark plus surrounding cities. Newark Public Safety Director Emmanuel Miranda also emphasized authorities viewed the organization as a major threat destroying neighborhoods through addiction, shootings, plus fear spreading around the North Ward.
After years surviving arrests, turf pressure, shootings, plus investigations stretching across Newark streets, Rabia plus Hadia. Soure finally sat in custody while the organization they built around North 9th Street collapsed publicly around them. The corner they left behind. During March 2025, hundreds of officers packed inside Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart while Detective Joseph Ascolese family sat silently watching Newark police honor the detective killed near Broadway plus Cartaret Street.
Outside the church, conversations about Rabia plus Hadia Soure already split Newark neighborhoods between people disgusted by the violence plus younger hustlers still glorifying twin alongside the so-called double two queens online. Meanwhile, IH survived getting shot directly through the face while AC carried permanent injuries after crawling wounded across North 12th Street during the July 2024 attack tied to the Springfield handgun.
Around North Ward, older residents quietly noticed that even after 26 arrests, 194 criminal charges, plus citywide headlines, the abandoned buildings, addicts, plus open sidewalks around North 9th Street still looked almost unchanged afterward. That reality mattered heavily once younger crews slowly started appearing near the same corners previously controlled by the twins, especially after ghost guns plus Instagram fame kept pulling teenagers toward Newark street culture faster than older generations disappeared from it. Even
after Rabia plus Hadia finally landed inside custody, another 14-year-old somewhere around Brick City still carried a switch pistol while standing beside friends recording live stream videos for strangers online. That meant the story surrounding North 9th Street never truly ended after the raids since the same streets raising the Soure twins were already shaping whoever came next.
