FBI AND MPD MAKE KEY ARRESTS IN DC DRUG RING
Partnership Also Announces Team DC

May 23, 2007.

WASHINGTON, DC. Metropolitan Police Chief, Cathy L. Lanier, Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Joseph Persichini, and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today the arrests of 12 individuals in connection with an ongoing investigation into the 4th Street Mob – a known drug ring operating in the District. The arrests followed the return of a 75-count federal indictment that was partially unsealed yesterday that charged 16 individuals with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine within the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland and four additional individuals in related cases.

MPD and FBI, with the assistance of the Prince George’s County Police Department executed a series of arrests and search warrants in the District and Prince George’s County in the early morning hours of May 22, 2007, confiscating several firearms, money and illegal narcotics. The operation stems from a months-long investigation into the cocaine and crack cocaine trafficking activities of the 4th Street Mob in the vicinity of the 4200 and 4300 blocks of 4th Street, Southeast.

Chief Lanier says the investigation and resulting arrests send a clear message. “We are fighting for the safety of our citizens. The Metropolitan Police Department will exhaust every means of law enforcement to get drug dealers off our streets. They will not be tolerated.”

“These arrests should send a clear message to our youth that joining a gang and engaging in criminal activity has severe consequences. In this case we had the luxury of bringing numerous resources to bear including assistance from our Baltimore FBI Office,” said Assistant Director Persichini. “This provided a force multiplier effect that successfully disrupted the criminal activities of this organization. I am grateful for the tremendous partnerships we have with MPD and other federal agencies. Together, we have in place a strong team with many resources that enable us to combat the most egregious crimes in the metropolitan area.”

“Thanks to the concerted and coordinated efforts of the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, and others, this long-standing drug crew, known as the “4th Street Mob, is now out of business,” stated U.S. Attorney Taylor. “But we’re just beginning as we plan to undertake targeted, effective, anti-crime measures in areas throughout our community most plagued by violent crime.”

According to the indictment, the defendants operated a narcotics distribution organization that acquired kilogram quantities of cocaine, cooked it into crack cocaine, and then sold the crack cocaine on the streets of the District of Columbia. During the investigation, undercover agents and investigators purchased crack cocaine from various defendants named in the indictment and seized multiple kilograms of cocaine.

James Becton, Russell Ramseur, Keith Sampler, Miah Jackson, Gina Taylor, Deborah Jones, Jaquan Best, Johnny Hodge, Christopher Becton and Robert Chase have each been charged with multiple offenses, Unlawful Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Carrying and Possessing a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Offense and Unlawful Posessession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine Within 1000 Feet of a School.

The investigation in the 4th Street Mob and the successful arrests of its members has highlighted the need to expand the law enforcement partnership of the MPD and FBI to the Prince Georges County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. These member agencies will form “Team D.C.,” which will undertake targeted anti-crime measures in areas of our community most plagued by violent crime.

“I am excited about the joining of local and federal law enforcement efforts under Team D.C.,” said Chief Lanier. “It’s an important partnership and equally important step forward in reducing gun and drug violence in our nation’s capital.”