Things seem hot...be careful out there.
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2010 FBI Chicago
Contact: Special Agent Ross Rice
(312) 829-1199
Eight Suspected Chicago Gang Members Charged
Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was joined today by Jody P. Weis, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), in announcing the arrest yesterday of six suspected members or associates of the Four Corners Hustlers, a Chicago-based street gang. A seventh suspected gang member was already in custody on unrelated charges, while an eighth suspected gang member surrendered to authorities today.
All of those arrested were taken into custody at various locations in and around Chicago, without incident, by members of the FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs and Officers from the CPD. All eight were charged in one of four separate criminal complaints, filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Chicago, with either Attempted Possession or Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance (crack cocaine), both of which are felony offenses.
According to the complaints, those charged, who are all known or suspected members or associates of the Four Corners Hustlers street gang, were alleged to have been involved in the manufacture, wholesale distribution, and/or sale of crack cocaine on Chicago’s west side since at least February of 2008. The primary area in which they are alleged to have conducted their drug activities was bound by the Eisenhower expressway on the south, North Avenue on the north, Laramie Avenue on the east and Austin Avenue on the west.
Those arrested yesterday are identified as follows:
ANDRE T. BEARD, also known as (aka) “Diesel”, age 29, of 2123 Pepperwood, Glendale Heights, Illinois.
MILTON D. BILLS, aka “Junebug”, age 32, of 5806 West Ohio Street in Chicago.
DOMINIQUE FINLEY, aka “Finball”, age 34, of 505 Geneva, Bellwood, Illinois.
CLARENCE JOHNSON, aka “Lakefront”, age 45, of 735 East 50th Street in Chicago.
TERRANCE C. JONES, aka “Sonny”, age 32, of 1447 South Christiana in Chicago.
DAMON WESTBROOK, aka “Skilly”, age 32, of 120 East 49th Street in Chicago.
A seventh defendant, FREDERICK TAYLOR, aka “Dirty”, age 23, of 1255 North Mason in Chicago surrendered today.
An eighth defendant, ERIC OLLISON, aka “Murder”, was in state custody on an unrelated charge.
The lengthy investigation leading to the filing of the charges announced today, code named “Operation Snatched”, is part of an on-going and coordinated effort by local, state and federal authorities to identify and dismantle the many highly organized drug trafficking street gangs operating in and around the Chicago metropolitan area. This investigation employed the extensive use of sophisticated physical surveillance techniques, undercover operations, the controlled purchase of illicit drugs and the court authorized electronic interception of telephone conversations involving the defendants. The CPD’s Gang Investigations Section participated in the investigation and provided invaluable assistance.
In announcing these arrests, Mr. Grant recognized the FBI’s continued partnership with the Chicago Police Department in combating violent street gangs. Said Mr. Grant “Without the expertise and intimate knowledge of gang operations that CPD investigators offer, it would be almost impossible to achieve the results announced today.”
Superintendent Weis added “This investigation shows our continued commitment to working with our law enforcement partners in pursuing gang and drug activity and minimizing its effect on the residents of Chicago.”
All of those in custody appeared before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole in Chicago, earlier today, at which time they were formally charged. They were ordered held without bond, pending their next scheduled court appearance and will be housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. If convicted of the charges filed against them, all eight defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of ten (10) years' incarceration to a maximum of life in prison.
The Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs is comprised of FBI Special Agents and Officers from the Chicago Police Department.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Copies of the criminal complaints filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.
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