Racine Residents Charged with Drug Conspiracy and Distribution Offenses

Racine Residents Charged With Drug Conspiracy and Distribution Offenses James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced today that eighteen individuals were indicted in federal court in an 18-count indictment charging conspiracies to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana; individual acts of drug distribution, and maintaining a drug-involved premises, between 2008 until June, 2011.

The following individuals are charged in the indictment:

Name,  Age and Residency,  Count(s)

Charles A. Berry 24, Racine 1, 9

Timothy Burgess 26, Racine 1, 2, 4

Orrin T. Graham 31, Racine 1, 2, 7

Rodney M. Hogan 41, Racine 1, 8, 11

Tavares M. Roberts 33, Racine 1, 3, 8, 12

Eric D. Wilkes 22, Racine 1, 13

Christopher A. Cosey 32, Racine 2, 15

Andre L. Epps 42, Racine 2, 9

Jessie J. Epps 38, Racine 2, 16

Steve H. Ivory 39, Racine 2, 5

Willie Overstreet, Jr. 44, Racine 2, 6

Ralph D. Swift 47, Racine 2, 10

Allen B. Wainwright 50, Racine 2, 4, 6, 7, 10

Zena S. Gardner 22, Racine 11

Byron E. Page 46, Racine 22

Sheila Adams 42, Racine 14

Natasha Page 25, Racine 17

Ruth Healy 76, Racine 18

If convicted of count one, the defendants face a minimum of ten years’ imprisonment with a maximum of life, a $10,000,000 fine, and between five years and life on supervised release. The penalties for a conviction under count two are a minimum of five years’ imprisonment with a forty year maximum, a $5,000,000 fine, and between four years and life on supervised release. Defendants charged in counts three through fifteen face a maximum of twenty years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and between three years and life supervised release. The penalties for a conviction under count eleven are a maximum of one year imprisonment, $1,000 fine, and one year of supervised release. The penalties for convictions under counts seventeen and eighteen are a maximum of twenty years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The indictment also includes the forfeiture of the defendants' properties used to commit the offenses and proceeds of the crime.

The investigation is part of an ongoing, long-term effort by law enforcement to eradicate the sale of crack cocaine, heroin, and other controlled substances by violent gang members in Racine. Since the first takedown in June 2008, 115 violent gang members and drug dealers from the Racine area have been charged in federal court.

This latest investigation began by focusing on the drug-dealing occurring at Ruth’s Beauty Salon, 1200 South Memorial Drive, Racine, Wisconsin. The investigation initially focused on a barber at the salon who was believed to be assisting in the sale of heroin and crack cocaine at the Salon to support his own addiction. The investigation then progressed to those individuals who were believed to be sources of supply for heroin and crack, including those individuals charged in Count One of the Indictment.

The lengthy investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Greater Racine Task Force. The Task Force is comprised of personnel from the FBI, Racine Police Department, Racine County Sheriff’s Office, the Mount Pleasant Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigations.

On June 23, 2011, law enforcement personnel from the Task Force, the Racine Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Marshals Service simultaneously arrested nine defendants and executed nine federal search warrants. Five defendants were already in custody. The following defendants are still at large: Rodney M. Hogan, Tavares M. Roberts, Zena S. Gardner, and Willie Overstreet, Jr.

In announcing these indictments, United States Attorney Santelle commented: “Our focused and highly effective work in identifying and apprehending those people who engage in illegal drug-trafficking of all types continues throughout the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The message to our community–and especially to those who may still be dealing in these highly destructive substances–is clear and unmistakable: You will be held fully accountable for your violence, your trafficking, and all of your other criminal behaviors related to that. As this latest, highly successful investigative operation shows, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers will not stop until this illegal conduct stops; we will persist in our prosecutions until that time when all of the people of Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, and every other city, town, and village in this district enjoy peace in their neighborhoods–safe and secure from criminal conduct.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erica O'Neil of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, United States Department of Justice.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which time the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

For additional information contact:

Assistant United States Attorney Erica O'Neil

Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig

(414) 297-1700