Twelve
people charged federally in connection with an interstate narcotics
conspiracy were arrested this morning in Oregon and Palmdale,
California, announced Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director
in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, Thomas P. O'Brien, United
States Attorney for Los Angeles and Timothy Landrum, Special
Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los
Angeles.
The
twelve defendants arrested today by agents with the FBI and
the DEA are alleged members or associates of the Los Angeles-based
Campanella Park Piru Bloods street gang. Some of the defendants
are alleged members of the Los Angeles-based Westside Piru Bloods,
and at least one is an alleged member of the Gangster Disciples
in Portland, Oregon. In addition, four federal search warrants
were executed in Eugene, Oregon, in connection with Operation
Crimson Vex. At one of the search locations, agents executing
the warrant uncovered and seized over eighty marijuana plants.
Those
arrested today were charged in a sealed indictment returned
on November 1, 2007, by a federal grand jury convened in Los
Angeles. The indictment alleges the defendants engaged in a
conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Some defendants
are charged with possession with intent to distribute illegal
narcotics. According to the indictment, defendants allegedly
purchased cocaine in Compton, California, and then transported
the cocaine to Portland, Oregon, for further distribution. In
addition, some of the defendants allegedly purchased marijuana
grown in Oregon, and then transported the marijuana to Los Angeles
for distribution. Those arrested today include:
Emily
Louise Silvestri, of Eugene, Oregon
Michael Darnell Thomas, of Portland, Oregon
Jeuan Jarrard Marks, 32, of Milwaukee, Oregon
Lindsay Anne Schumacher, 31, of Milwaukee, Oregon
Krystle Alwana Harris, 25, of Portland, Oregon
Eric Dushon Lewis, 38, of Compton, was arrested in Palmdale,
California
Eugene Pomlee Miller, of Eugene, Oregon
Demarcos Wright, 28, of Eugene, Oregon
Barry Lloyd Williams, 28, of Eugene, Oregon
Four individuals
charged in the indictment are fugitives:
Adrian Cavett Stafford, 28, of Eugene, Oregon
Kenyan Terrance Payne, 39, of Compton.
(Payne was also charged in the first phase of Crimson Vex)
Joseph Cornelius McDonald, of Portland, Oregon
Dawnee Shea Parks Miller, 19, of Eugene, Oregon
The majority
of the defendants arrested today will be afforded an initial
appearance in U.S. District Court in either Eugene or Portland,
Oregon. Defendant Eric Dushon Lewis will make his initial appearance
in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Today's law enforcement activity represents the second phase
of Operation Crimson Vex. In the first phase, arrest warrants
were executed on November 6th based on an indictment returned
in Los Angeles charging 20 alleged members and associates of
the Campanella Park Piru Blood street gang and alleged members
of the Black Mafia Family (known as "BMF"), a gang
with roots in Detroit, Michigan. In that indictment, defendants
were charged for their participation in a multi-state conspiracy
to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and phencyclidine
(PCP). In that indictment, defendants trafficked in kilogram
quantities of cocaine in the Campanella Park area of Compton,
California. The Campanella Park Piru Bloods allegedly supplied
BMF members who would then transport cocaine, heroin and PCP
from Los Angeles, for distribution to areas including St. Louis,
Missouri and Atlanta, Georgia, according to the indictments.
Defendants in phase one of Operation Crimson Vex were arrested
in areas of Los Angeles, as well as St. Louis, Missouri and
Georgia. There are three fugitives in that case. Kenyan Terrance
Payne, who was charged in both indictments, is a fugitive, as
are the following defendants:
Daniel
Corral, 33, of Culver City, California
Demond
Lee, 29, of St. Louis, Missouri.
Prior
to today's law enforcement actions, several search warrants
were executed in connection with this investigation. In addition
to over $1 million in seizable assets that have been identified
throughout the investigation, the following has been seized
in connection with this case:
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