42° and Clear
Man Sentenced to 36+ Years for Role in Three Drug-Related Murders
Leevander Wade Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Three Murders
NEWARK, N.J. – Leevander Wade, 44, of East Orange, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 440 months in federal prison for his involvement in three murders linked to a large-scale drug trafficking enterprise. U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz imposed the sentence on August 1, 2024, following Wade's guilty plea to racketeering conspiracy earlier this year.
According to court records, Wade was a manager in the drug trafficking organization led by Michael Healy, which distributed heroin and fentanyl. In February 2018, Healy discovered that a member of the organization, referred to as "A.S.," was cooperating with law enforcement. Healy instructed the East Orange Bloods, a local gang, to kill the informant. Wade facilitated this by contracting the gang for the murder.
However, on February 3, 2018, the gang mistakenly killed a bystander parked outside A.S.'s residence in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Realizing the error, Healy and Wade ordered the gang to complete the task, resulting in the murder of A.S. on March 12, 2018.
Further, on April 6, 2018, Healy, suspecting another associate, identified as "J.C.," of being a threat to the organization, killed him in Newark. Wade assisted by driving Healy to and from the murder scene and then arranging for the vehicle to be burned.
In addition to his prison sentence, Wade received five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $6,223 in restitution.
Other members of the gang involved in the murders have also been sentenced. Thomas Zimmerman, Tyquan Daniels, and Ali Hill, all members of the Brick City Brims subset of the Bloods, received sentences ranging from 25 to 37 years after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
Michael Healy was convicted on April 3, 2024, of multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, and various gun and drug offenses. He faces multiple mandatory life sentences and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1, 2024.
