Afrika Owes - a black prep-school student accused of aiding a crack ring - has been denied a bail reduction

A judge refused to reduce bail for accused gang girl Afrika Owes - despite the teen's tears, two rows of church supporters, and the presence of Rep. Charles Rangel. Owes, 17, is accused of carrying guns for her boyfriend, a reputed leader of the violent and crack-peddling "137th St. Crew." She's been held on Rikers Island in lieu of $50,000 bail and petitioned to have the amount lowered or be released on her own recognizance. Officials from the Abyssinian Baptist Church offered to sign a bond that would require them to cough up $50,000 if she skipped a court date. The judge nixed it because of the logistics of the church raising the money, asking if every member would be putting up $1. McLaughlin also noted that two members of the "137th Street Crew" are at large - and he recited a portion of a phone conversation in which Owes received apparent marching orders from her jailed boyfriend Jaquan Layne. Owes was valedictorian of her charter school before winning a scholarship to prestigious Deerfield in Massachusetts. She was booted from the prep school in May 2010 and has been attending Millenium High School in Manhattan, with her sights set on the Ivy League. Prosecutors say she was an entrenched member of the violent gang that operates in the shadow of Abyssinian, where she once sang in the choir.