New Project Safe Neighborhoods program to target repeat
offenders
LITTLE ROCK—Multiple gang members are among the dozens of
individuals arrested in a major law enforcement operation targeting violent
criminals in central Arkansas. Thursday’s early-morning takedown highlights the
coordinated work of federal, state, and local agencies to combat drug and gun
crime in Little Rock, and is part of both new and continuing efforts by all law
enforcement in the area to address the rise in violent crime.
Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District
of Arkansas, and Stephen G. Azzam, Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans
Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced today’s
arrests, as well the unsealing of 13 indictments and two complaints charging 49
individuals with dozens of federal gun and drug-trafficking crimes. The
indictments were presented as part of a collaborative violent-crime reduction
initiative in the greater Little Rock area.
The overall operation, led by the DEA and assisted by the
FBI, resulted in 21 people arrested on Thursday morning and is the product of
the combined efforts of the law enforcement agencies comprising the GET Rock
task force. Early Thursday morning hundreds of officers from multiple agencies
executed arrest warrants for the charged suspects. Nine defendants remain
fugitives. Included in the arrests were multiple members of Little Rock’s two
dominant gangs—Bloods and Crips. Agents also executed 11 search warrants, which
resulted in agents seizing 21 illegally possessed guns, body armor, 9.6 pounds
of cocaine, 4 ounces of methamphetamine, 7.2 ounces of crack cocaine 12 ounces
of marijuana, 5 grams of heroin, 293 ecstasy pills, and 93 pint bottles of
promethazine cough syrup. Agents also seized approximately $50,000 in drug
proceeds, 4 cars, and 1 motorcycle.
This operation is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN),
a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities
they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for
everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of
the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all
U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, and local
law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based
strategies to reduce violent crime.
“Gangs use violence to try to assert a false sovereignty
over our neighborhoods, but they will fail,” Attorney General Sessions said.
“The Department of Justice is committed to reducing violent crime in America.
That’s why we have restored our Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which
customizes our crime reduction strategy in each of our 94 U.S. Attorney
districts. Federal, state, and local law enforcement in Arkansas has
prioritized dismantling gangs—and together we are producing results. Today’s
arrests are the next steps toward taking back our streets.”
Hiland made clear that the people arrested in this operation
are the type of criminal he is most determined to remove from our communities.
“A team of over 250 agents and officers from law enforcement
agencies across our state came together this morning to begin the process of
dismantling violent gangs and removing dangerous people from the streets, with
the goal of making our community a safer place,” Hiland said. “These agents
also took drugs and violent people off the street today—people we believe
endanger the lives of law-abiding citizens and endanger the future of our
children with their toxic influence. Since I took this position, I have said
that targeting violent offenders will be a priority for this office, and we are
committed to that priority. Today’s operation is a victory over gang, gun, and
drug violence, but is just the start of what the combined resources of these
law enforcement agencies can do.”
“These arrests should serve as a warning and send a clear
message—we will relentlessly pursue these violent criminals and drug
traffickers plaguing our communities and bring them to justice,” Special Agent
in Charge Azzam said. “Our neighborhoods deserve to exist without fear and
intimidation inflicted by violent drug gangs. These dangerous criminals
arrested today were responsible for infesting our communities with more than
drugs—they also threatened our citizens with guns and violence. The DEA stands
here today with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners,
confident that we have dismantled these violent drug trafficking organizations
and made the streets in these communities a safer place to live.”
The DEA served as lead agency while working in conjunction
with GET (Gang Enforcement Task Force) Rock during the operation. GET Rock was
formed at the request of Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in response to the
escalation in gang and gun violence in Little Rock, highlighted by the July 1,
2017, mass shooting at the Power Ultra Lounge in Little Rock that injured 28
people. Nine central Arkansas law enforcement agencies—the U.S. Attorney’s
office, FBI, DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF),
U.S. Marshal’s Service, Little Rock Police Department (LRPD), Pulaski County
Sherriff’s Office (PCSO), Arkansas State Police (ASP), and Arkansas Community
Correction—comprise GET Rock, which is coordinated out of the FBI Little Rock
field office and continues to serve as the clearinghouse for all gang-related
law enforcement actions in Little Rock.
“With these arrests and indictments, we are serving notice
that Arkansas will not tolerate the reign of terror by those who traffic in
illegal drugs, illegal guns, and rule by intimidation,” Governor Hutchinson
said. “I applaud the work of all of the agencies who participated in this
investigation and dangerous round-up of suspects. Our newly formed GET Rock team
has demonstrated that cooperation across agencies at all levels is an effective
approach to identifying and apprehending gang members and others who threaten
the lives of our citizens. These officers have taken great risks on our behalf,
and I thank them on behalf of all those whose neighborhoods are a little safer
today.”
“Violent street gangs, including the Wolfe Street Crips and
the Monroe Street Hustlers, have a long history of crime and violence in the
Little Rock community,” FBI Little Rock Field Office Special Agent in Charge
Diane Upchurch said. “We are determined to hold accountable these individuals
who have paralyzed our community. We appreciate and applaud the efforts of this
amazing team of law enforcement agencies.”
Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, a former prosecutor, praised
the city’s law enforcement officers in the successful operation.
“The impact of today’s arrests will go a long way toward
bringing safety back to the streets of Little Rock,” Mayor Stodola said. “Our
citizens deserve to live without fear, without the nightly crack of gunfire
piercing the darkness of night. Drugs and guns are a deadly mix which often
ends in a homicide. Those who insist on mixing the two with criminal activity
must be taken off the streets. Our thanks to the 250 law enforcement officers
from our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who, with the
actions taken today, are making our streets safer.”
Hiland announces new program designed to produce more
federal prosecutions
On Thursday, the heads of federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies attended a press conference announcing these arrests,
during which time Hiland also announced a major PSN initiative his office is
implementing that is designed to marshal the combined resources of federal and
state law enforcement to remove violent, repeat criminals from the streets of
central Arkansas.
Overall, violent crime increased approximately 5.52% from
2016 to 2017 in Little Rock, including increases in homicides, rapes, and
burglaries. The largest increase was in the number of aggravated assaults,
which jumped from 2,229 in 2016 to 2,556 in 2017. Guns are used in a vast
majority of these assaults.
At the press conference, Hiland introduced Joann Rhodes, a
Little Rock grandmother who was nearly killed last Friday afternoon when a
bullet pierced her windshield inches from her head while she was driving on
12th Street in Little Rock. Rhodes also lost a son to gun violence four years
ago.
“In response to a continued spike in violent crime, the
Little Rock Police Department joined resources with our local, state and
federal partners,” LRPD Chief Kenton Buckner said. “Our collective efforts have
resulted in a significant takedown of many individuals responsible for crimes
in our community. Little Rock is grateful to everyone who has assisted to keep
the capital city safe. We remain committed to pursuing the individuals
responsible for heinous crimes in our city.”
Recognizing the need to address the acute and immediate
threat that gun violence is having on our communities—which includes people
like Ms. Rhodes—Hiland seeks to use the full force of his office and federal
firearms statutes, which provide significant punishment for repeat offenders
and felons who possess guns. Without similar punishments in the state system,
it is prosecution in the federal system—which has no parole—that provides a
recognizable deterrent for these violent criminals.
“To those who have held our communities hostage to your
violence, to those who have declared war in our neighborhoods with little fear
of retribution, we are coming for you,” Hiland said. “We will seek your removal
by any means available to me under federal law. The announcement of this
program is your warning—my office, along with the shared resources of all of
our local, state, and federal partners—stands ready to do what needs to be done
to take you off the streets, and make our communities safer places. Everyone in
the law enforcement community shares this goal.”
Under this PSN initiative, the Eastern District of Arkansas
will greatly increase its capacity to federally prosecute violent crimes
involving guns and drugs by enlisting the help of attorneys currently working
for various state offices. These attorneys will be deputized as Special
Assistant United States Attorney’s (SAUSAs) and given authority to prosecute
cases in federal court.
Six county prosecuting attorney’s offices (Pulaski,
Faulkner, Saline, Jefferson, Lonoke, and White) have offered prosecutors to
assist in federal court. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office and the
Governor’s office have volunteered attorneys to serve as SAUSAs. In total,
approximately 13 SAUSAs will initially serve the Eastern District of Arkansas,
allowing the office to prosecute far more cases in federal court.
Hiland’s office has already begun increasing its caseload.
In December and January, the U.S. Attorney’s office opened approximately 50 new
gun cases, many of which originated with an arrest by a local police
department. Thus far in February the office is reviewing another 20 gun cases,
and Hiland pledges to work with the Pulaski County prosecutor’s office to
review every gun arrest that occurs in Pulaski County for potential federal
prosecution.
“I am proud to join U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland in the
important fight against violent crime,” Arkansas Attorney General Leslie
Rutledge said. “The addition of Special Assistant United States Attorneys will
help law enforcement curtail unnecessary violence and lock criminals up for the
gun crimes they commit. No Arkansan should live in fear and I am confident that
prosecuting and removing dangerous criminals from our streets will make our
neighborhoods safer.”
“This initiative will enhance coordination and cooperation
among the local, state, and federal agencies tasked with keeping our
communities safe, and in reducing gun violence in particular,” Pulaski County
Prosecutor Larry Jegley said. “I can say with confidence that prosecutors
throughout the counties of the Eastern District of Arkansas welcome this
outreach effort and will put it to good use for the public we serve. The
violence on our streets must stop, and this is a terrific effort to that end.”
Hiland’s gun initiative would not be possible without the
assistance of both the local prosecuting attorney’s offices and the local
police departments, as well as federal partners such as the ATF. Many of the
cases these SAUSAs will prosecute in federal court will begin with arrests by
the LRPD, PCSO, North Little Rock Police Department and the Arkansas State
Police, and then move into the federal system with the help of the ATF. The ATF
will provide expertise and the logistical and technical support of special
agents to allow cases that began with state arrests to proceed in the federal
system.
“ATF remains committed to the detection, investigation, and
prosecution of individuals who would illegally possess and utilize firearms in
crimes of violence,” ATF Little Rock Resident Agent in Charge Jeff Reed said.
“We applaud this new effort to enforce federal gun laws on violent criminals
who want to take the law into their own hands. ATF will work in lockstep with
the United States Attorney’s Office to accomplish the removal of the threat
posed by those individuals who would enforce their will upon the citizens of
Arkansas by illegally possessing and using of firearms.”
The new SAUSAs are expected to begin prosecuting federal
cases in the coming weeks. On Thursday, thirty-one of the 49 defendants
included in the operation are charged in two indictments. In 2017, law
enforcement identified Clifton Thomas and Marvin Collins as founders of a local
Bloods-affiliated gang, Real Hustlers Incorporated (RHI). The gang, known to
frequent the area of Monroe and Brown Streets in Little Rock, started as the
Monroe Street Hustlers and changed its name to RHI due to mounting and unwanted
attention from the LRPD. RHI, which promotes itself as an organization for rap
artists, utilizes 5108 31st Street in Little Rock as a music studio, and as a
location for distribution of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, and other
controlled substances.
The mass shooting at Power Ultra Lounge was precipitated by
the rivalry between RHI and the Wolfe Street Crips, which is a local
Crips-affiliated gang in Little Rock. Police identified various RHI members as
having participated in the Power Ultra Lounge shooting, and in subsequent
retaliatory shootings involving Dewquan Johns, James Langford, Rodney Scott, Damien
Young, and Edmond Blue (all of whom are indicted as part of this operation),
among several others.
The DEA, using court-authorized wiretaps of various phones,
identified gang members and the drug and gun crimes the gang was committing.
Charges in the Thomas indictment include conspiracies to distribute cocaine,
heroin, and marijuana, felon in possession of firearms, and possession of
firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Included among the defendants is
Bilal Johns Muhammad, identified as a long-time leader in RHI, and formerly the
Monroe Street Hustlers. Two of Bilal Johns Muhammad’s sons—Bilal Sean Muhammad
and Kain Jordan—were also indicted in the case.
The DEA and GET Rock also identified another 18 defendants
as part of a drug trafficking organization headed by Robert Turpin III. The
investigation revealed that Turpin was distributing ounce quantities of
methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, as well as thousands of
oxycodone and alprazolam (Xanax) pills in the central Arkansas area. Turpin was
found to be importing pharmaceutical drugs from India for illicit distribution,
and during the course of the conspiracy more than 150,000 pills were obtained
and distributed.
Furthermore, the Turpin organization was responsible for the
transportation and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, marijuana,
pharmaceutical controlled substances and money to and from Texas,
Massachusetts, and North Carolina using personal and commercial vehicles, the
United States Postal Service and FedEx. This organization also trafficked in
firearms and has engaged in firearm-related violence in the Little Rock area.
Law enforcement agents carried out the operation that resulted in the arrests
of 15 of the 18 indicted members of the Turpin organization on February 14,
2018.
Also arrested Thursday morning was Chris Alexander, a member
of the Wolfe Street Crips and purported community activist who has promoted
anti-gang and violence programs in Little Rock in the past. Alexander, along
with fellow gang member Kenya Davis, who is still a fugitive, was indicted on
marijuana conspiracy and distribution charges. Alexander was also charged with
being a felon in possession of firearms and possession of firearms in
furtherance of drug trafficking.
These cases were investigated by the DEA Little Rock
District Office Task Force Group 2—composed of DEA special agents and task
force officers from the ASP, PCSO, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Saline
County Sheriff’s Office, and Benton Police Department. Also involved in the
investigation was FBI, ATF, United States Marshals Service, LRPD, North Little
Rock Police Department, Arkansas Community Corrections, and the Arkansas National
Guard Counter-Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Anne Gardner is
heading the prosecution of these cases.
An indictment or complaint contains only allegations. A
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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