Bizarre Brooklyn Cult Responsible for Fatal Baby Shower Shootout?

A night meant for joy turned into a scene of terror when gunfire erupted at a Queens baby shower, leaving one dead and three injured. The suspects? A father-son duo with ties to one of Brooklyn’s most notorious cult families.

Law enforcement sources confirm that Lagarthucin LeGrand and his son, Lagarthucin Jr., were among seven people indicted for the May 4 shootout in Richmond Hill. The event, intended to celebrate new life, became a deadly warzone as bullets flew, endangering over 40 attendees, including children.

“The level of violence was staggering,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz remarked. “It was something out of the Wild West.”

The hail of bullets claimed the life of 24-year-old Jefari Dobie-Reinhardt. Investigators recovered 35 shell casings and multiple live rounds scattered across the venue.

Surveillance footage captured Lagarthucin Sr. being handed a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol amid the chaos. In a bizarre attempt to hide the weapon, he placed it in a tray of rice. His son then concealed the tray, which police later found stashed inside a trash bag. Forensic analysis confirmed that the bullet lodged in Dobie-Reinhardt’s body matched the firearm hidden in the food.

When confronted, Lagarthucin Jr. allegedly confessed, stating, “I was helping that guy; I did it.”

Lagarthucin Sr. faces up to 11 years in prison on charges including illegal weapon possession and evidence tampering. His son, charged with tampering, could see up to four years behind bars.

Four additional men—Michael Hammond, 20; Jermaine Orr, 23; Javed Duncan, 23; and Jameer Bennett, 20—face weapon possession, reckless endangerment, and child endangerment charges, carrying potential 15-year sentences.

The LeGrand name is infamous in Brooklyn’s criminal history. Lagarthucin Sr.’s father, DeVernon LeGrand, ruled over a sham religious cult for decades. Preaching from a Crown Heights rowhouse, he controlled followers through manipulation, drugs, and violence. His so-called “nuns”—teenage girls—were forced to panhandle in Times Square, claiming to raise money for the poor.

Authorities finally cracked down on DeVernon in 1965 for child abuse. Investigations later uncovered the full horrors of his crimes. He was convicted of rape in 1975 and later found guilty of murdering his teenage daughter-in-law and her younger sister. Even more grotesquely, he was also convicted of murdering and dismembering one of his wives.

Despite the patriarch’s imprisonment, the LeGrand family’s criminal enterprises persisted. In 2010, The New York Post exposed Mindy LeGrand, DeVernon’s daughter-in-law, for masquerading as an Episcopal nun in Little Italy. She falsely claimed to be fundraising for orphanages, a con that prompted an investigation by the state attorney general.

Lagarthucin Jr.’s attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, insisted his client had no history of violence and argued that the baby shower shootout was sparked by outside gunmen.

“As for his family history,” Montgomery said, “people are complicated; people are interesting, complex.”

For law enforcement and prosecutors, however, the message is clear: The LeGrand name continues to spell trouble for New York City.