Julian Mejias, 43, was found dead on the morning of July 25, 2024, in the back of a U-Haul van in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, New York. Investigators reported he had been shot multiple times in the head; one hand was bound with a zip tie, and bags of marijuana surrounded his body, suggesting a violent, drug-related crime.

The sequence began the night before, July 24, when a group of men from Baltimore traveled to Queens intending to rob local marijuana dealers. Posing as buyers, they met Mejias and another dealer at a stash house. The dealers were held at gunpoint, restrained with zip ties, and forced into two vehicles, a Jeep and the U-Haul. About 30 pounds of marijuana were taken; during the ride through Queens Mejias was fatally shot inside the U-Haul and the van was later abandoned.

A federal grand jury in Brooklyn returned indictments charging six men from Baltimore with robbery, kidnapping, and Mejias’s murder: Jerome The Engineer Waters, 23; Calvin Israel, 23; William Barnett, 27; Jalon Lips Garrett, 20; Marcus Nacho Pittman, 30; and Delonta D Lo Pittman, 31. Waters and Israel were among the first arrested in Baltimore; later reports indicated all but Garrett were in custody and Garrett was scheduled for a court appearance. If convicted, the men face mandatory life imprisonment.

Did anyone in Queens recognize the described crew or the vehicles used during the July 24–25 incident?