Guilty Plea In Riverside Gang Shooting

Expressing hope that the guilty plea would bring “a measure of closure to the victim’s family,” on Friday, August 6, Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced Jason Langhorn, 39, of Riverhead pleaded guilty to firearm-related murder for his role in the Riverside slaying of Thomas Lacolla of Riverhead on November 17, 2015.

Mr. Langhorn, authorities said, was a member of the “Lowrider Brims” subset of the Bloods and an associate of the “Red Stone Gorilla” subset of the Bloods, a violent criminal enterprise operating in Riverhead.

According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding in Central Islip court, Mr. Langhorn, along with two other members of the Bloods, went to an Old Quogue Road, Riverside, address, looking to kill a rival gang member. They sprayed 39 shots from three firearms, including an assault rifle, into a vehicle they believed was occupied by the rival gang member.

Mr. Lacolla, 27, was in the black Mercedes-Benz as it was strafed with bullets. He was killed in the fusillade.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone, according to a release from the Eastern District U.S. attorney’s office. As part of the program, U.S. attorneys offices work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Announcing the guilty plea, Ms. Kasulis extolled “the outstanding and tireless work by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Long Island Gang Task Force, the Suffolk County East End Drug Task Force, the Riverhead Police Department and the Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad.”