Federal prosecutors charged Rajahshuweh Rhodes, called "Skii Dot," in the 2021 Lower East Side killing of 16-year-old Isaiah Levine.

Five years after a 16-year-old was shot on a Lower East Side corner, the case is now federal, and that changes the stakes. Prosecutors charged Rhodes under racketeering law, alleging the shooting was gang business for the New York Blood Brim Army. Murder in aid of racketeering carries mandatory life or death. These are accusations in an indictment. Rhodes has not been tried, and he has not entered a plea that we could confirm.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, the arrest of Rajahshuweh Rhodes, 23, of Manhattan, also known as "Skii Dot," "skiidot.b" and "bdot," and the unsealing of a seven-count indictment in connection with the Oct. 15, 2021, killing of Isaiah Levine, 16. Prosecutors allege Levine was shot in the side of the head while standing on a sidewalk at Delancey Street and Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side. A second person was struck in the leg and survived. The indictment is dated Oct. 8, 2026.

Prosecutors allege that from at least 2019 through 2026, Rhodes was a member and associate of the New York Blood Brim Army, a gang the office said operates throughout New York City, and that he fired in connection with a gang-related dispute. He is charged with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder and assault in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and three counts of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense. Murder in aid of racketeering carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison or death, the office said. Every fact in the indictment is an allegation.

CBS New York and NBC New York reported the shooting in October 2021, when police said a teenager was killed and another person was wounded in a double shooting on the Lower East Side. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said Wednesday that "the passage of time does not mean a case is forgotten." HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas noted the arrest came "nearly five years to the day" after the shooting. NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch credited the department's 7th Precinct detective squad and Manhattan South Homicide.

Rhodes was scheduled to be presented Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky, and the case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stone and Kathryn Wheelock are prosecuting. The outcome of the presentment, including any detention order or plea, was not reported in the materials reviewed. An indictment is an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.