Earnest “Bama” Edwards, 26, a high-ranking operative of the Bloods street gang wanted

Monticello police are again searching for Earnest “Bama” Edwards, 26, a high-ranking operative of the Bloods street gang. notorious street gangster is wanted on a felony warrant after he brandished a gun at a longtime adversary, sparking a melee at a village gas station, police said.On Tuesday, about 6:30 p.m., Edwards encountered a longtime foe on Broadway, police said. The two men jawed at each other and went separate ways. Minutes later, Edwards got out of a car at the nearby Mobile gas station and flashed a handgun at the man.The other man and his friends ran inside the gas station and began hurling full beer bottles at Edwards, who retaliated by throwing them back, police said. One beer bottle hit the car of an innocent store patron, shattering his windshield, police said. No gunshots were fired.Edwards is wanted on a warrant for possession of a weapon, menacing and reckless endangerment. Police said he fired a gunshot at the same adversary, whose name was not released, in 2006.Much of Monticello’s violent gang activity has revolved around Edwards since 2005. He would recruit young men around Monticello to sell drugs while he protected the territory and went after users who didn’t pay. Edwards had been a suspect in several shootings, once shot himself in the leg, and convinced his pals to bum-rush police when he was surrounded at an apartment complex. Monticello police finally cornered and arrested Edwards in December 2007 at the Sleepy Hollow apartment complex. He was convicted of grand larceny here and possessing more than 50 grams of marijuana in New Jersey. He was released from Bergen County Jail on Dec. 1. Since then he’s returned to Monticello and tried to reestablish himself as the village’s top tough guy, police said.

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