MEMPHIS, TN – Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons and Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin announced Thursday the indictments of 30 individuals by the state grand jury on felony drug and conspiracy charges. Many are violent convicted felons and known members of the Gangster Disciples. These indictments are the result of Operation Blue Star, an extensive investigation into rampant drug activity in and around the Cleaborn Homes and Foote Homes housing developments near downtown Memphis.
Officers started the round-up of defendants early Thursday morning. Among those indicted and in custody are full-time career drug dealers and Gangster Disciple members Eric Webb and Parrish Shells, both of whom have extensive records. The names of all defendants in custody at this time will be released separately. Police also served 11 search warrants on Thursday. The investigation is ongoing.
The state Grand Jury for Shelby County on Tuesday returned 40 criminal indictments against the 30 defendants for numerous counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell the substance. Most charges were for the sale of cocaine and marijuana. There were also numerous charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, as the investigation revealed a drug trafficking network. The amount of narcotics allegedly sold resulted in mostly class B and C felonies, for which the standard sentences are 8-12 years (with a maximum of 30 years) and 3-6 years (with a maximum of 15 years), respectively, as well as class A felony conspiracy charges, for which the standard sentence is 15-25 years (with the maximum of 60 years).
Of the 30 defendants, six individuals have been previously convicted for murder or attempted murder; more than half of the defendants are currently on probation, parole or bond for other offenses; five have been previously convicted of robbery or aggravated robbery; and more than half have past firearms or related charges. (Those convicted for murder were convicted for second degree murder prior to 1995, when it became a non-parolable offense.) Collectively, these defendants have more than 75 prior felony convictions. More than half are known gang members.
Operation Blue Star was conducted by undercover officers of the Organized Crime Unit. The investigation started in October 2008. The result has been the arrests of violent and serious repeat offenders who have managed to operate a drug trafficking network out of the Cleaborn Homes and Foote Homes. It also creates a serious disruption in the Gangster Disciples chain of command. The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the Memphis Police Department’s Blue C.R.U.S.H.™ initiative.
“In this one operation, compared to past operations, members of the Organized Crime Unit have captured the most violent criminals with career plans to destroy communities. We are not going to tolerate any criminal, any gang member or any drug dealer terrorizing our citizens or embedding their criminal acts in our city,” said Director Godwin. “The community must stand with us to continue to make the laws stronger and clean up every neighborhood,” the Director added.
“Many of those indicted are violent gang members. As a result of these indictments by the grand jury, our streets are safer today. And at least for now, we have made a major dent in drug trafficking in the Cleaborn and Foote Homes developments. Hopefully we have provided some relief to residents who have suffered at the hands of career drug dealers,” said District Attorney Gibbons. |