CLEVELAND—Seventy-two people were
indicted in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio for their roles in a
conspiracy to bring powder and crack cocaine in from Georgia and Kentucky and
sell it throughout Greater Cleveland, law enforcement officials announced
today.
Four of those indicted are also accused
of taking part in the shooting and robbery of a Euclid, Ohio man in January
2012. That shooting led to a manhunt throughout Euclid and Cleveland.
An additional 14 people were indicted in
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Common Pleas Court on state drug charges.
The indictment is believed to be the
largest ever filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Ohio, in terms of number of defendants.
“The criminal activity laid out in this
indictment shows the lengths people will go to sell drugs, but it should also
underscore our commitment to fighting back,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S.
Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
“This investigation and 97-count
indictment represent a top-to-bottom dismantlement of a violent criminal organization
intent on polluting our neighborhoods with drugs,” said Stephen D. Anthony,
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office. “As evidenced by
the results of this investigation, the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force
and its community partners will work tirelessly to target and eliminate the
most significant threats to our communities.”
Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath
said, “With these 86 indictments, a major blow has been dealt to drug
trafficking in this area. This is another example of what can be accomplished
when our law enforcement partners work together to identify and arrest those
individuals responsible for selling drugs in our communities. Along with our
law enforcement partners and the community, we will continue to work together
to stop the sale of illegal drugs in our neighborhoods.”
The drug conspiracy took place between
2011 and May 2012, according to the 97-count federal indictment.
Walter Williams obtained kilogram
amounts of cocaine in Georgia and elsewhere and transported the drugs to
Cleveland, where he sold the cocaine to Edward Martin and others. Martin, in
turn, sold large amounts of cocaine to Deante Rogers, Thomas McDonald, Aaron
Strange, Andy Gray, Jamar Pennyman, T’Andre Buchanan, Irin Green, David Paige,
Demtrius Duvall, Dennis Edwards, Shaughn Hubbard, Richard Wilson, and others in
the Greater Cleveland area, according to the indictment.
Chase Downey, John Campbell, Javier
Garza, and Francisco Rodriguez, all of Kentucky, traveled to the Cleveland area
and sold kilograms of cocaine to Charles Smith, Randy Jackson, Deante Rogers,
Thomas McDonald, and others, according to the indictment.
Deante Rogers used his Cleveland
residence to sell, process, and store cocaine and crack cocaine, according to
the indictment.
Charles Smith used a Euclid residence to
sell, process, and store cocaine and crack cocaine, according to the
indictment.
Rogers and Smith would then sell cocaine
and crack cocaine to dozens of other people, according to the indictment.
On January 6, 2012, John Campbell, Chase
Downey, Francisco Rodriguez, and R.D. (a person known to the grand jury but not
charged herein) met Charles Smith at the residence in Euclid and offered to
sell him a kilogram of cocaine for $30,000, according to the indictment.
During the meeting, Rodriguez shot Smith
twice and Campbell, Downey, and Rodriguez and took nearly 900 grams of cocaine,
300 grams of crack cocaine, and $30,000, according to the indictment.
Cuyahoga County prosecutors have charged
Rodriguez, Downey, Campbell, and R.D. for those acts, as well as for the
shootout with police that followed.
Federal prosecutors are also seeking to
forfeit assets obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violations or
used to commit or facilitate the commission of the violations, including but
not limited to, more than $93,000 in cash; nine firearms; a watch; jewelry; a
Ford F150; and three homes.
“By following the money trail, special
agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation help to disrupt and dismantle major drug
trafficking organizations that attempt to conceal the true source of their
money from the government,” said Darryl Williams, Special Agent in Charge,
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-Criminal Investigation.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences
will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case,
including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any; the defendants’ role
in the offense; and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the
sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, they will
be less than the minimum.
This case is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Pinjuh and Adam Hollingsworth following an
investigation by the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force (NOLETF).
The NOLETF is a long standing
multi-agency task force comprised of investigators from the FBI; Cuyahoga
Metropolitan Housing Authority; Drug Enforcement Administration; IRS;
Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service;
Cleveland Division of Police; Cleveland Heights, Ohio Police Department;
Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office; Euclid Police Department; Regional Transit
Authority Police Department; Strongsville, Ohio Police Department; Westlake,
Ohio Police Department; and Shaker Heights, Ohio Police Department. The NOLETF
is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
initiatives. The HIDTA Program supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug
task forces in their efforts to eliminate or reduce drug-trafficking in Ohio.
An indictment is only a charge and is
not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will
be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
No comments:
Post a Comment