MEMPHIS, TN – Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons and Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin announced Thursday that Memphis police officers served or attempted to serve warrants on 56 convicted prostitutes and prostitution promoters who were indicted earlier this week for felony drug violations following Operation: Fallen Angel. The Organized Crime Unit officers also attempted to serve arrest warrants on 12 additional adult defendants (not yet indicted) and 3 juveniles. In addition to the criminal charges, the Memphis Police and D.A.’s Office closed two “drug houses” as public nuisances.
Officers started the round-up of defendants early Thursday morning. The names of defendants in custody at this time will be released separately. Two vehicles used to transport illegal narcotics were seized.
The state Grand Jury for Shelby County on Tuesday returned 72 indictments on mostly class B and C felonies as a result of an intensive undercover investigation by the MPD’s Organized Crime Undercover Operations Unit in conjunction with the Organized Crime Vice Team.
Two of the defendants are known gang members of the Gangster Disciples and the Piru Bloods. The youngest individual is a 17-year-old female, and the oldest is a 50-year-old male.
Operation: Fallen Angel targeted known prostitutes and “pimps” who have allegedly been involved in prostitution, narcotics dealing and criminal activity throughout Memphis. The investigation began on February 27, 2008 and concluded April 22, 2008 when the Grand Jury returned the indictments. Police served numerous search warrants on “prostitution dens” and “drug houses.” Undercover officers were led to these locations by prostitutes identified by the Vice Team to purchase illegal narcotics. All of the locations are within one mile of a city school, church, and or daycare facility. Police reports indicate these areas are plagued with assaults, theft and burglaries from businesses, houses, vehicles and individuals.
Operation: Fallen Angel is a continuation of Operation: Wheels for Deals, which was conducted by the Vice Team earlier in the week. Both operations were carried out in conjunction with the Memphis Police Department’s Blue C.R.U.S.H.™ initiative.
The indictments returned by the Grand Jury include charges of sale of a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell. The drug charges primarily involve the sale or possession of cocaine and heroin. One indictment is for the possession of marijuana. The indictments resulted in dozens of class B and C felony charges and one class A misdemeanor charge.
Many of the undercover drug purchases made during Operation: Fallen Angel happened inside the two properties closed Thursday as public nuisances. According to the petitions filed with the Environmental Court, the properties, located at 1498 and 1508 Maplewood in north Memphis, are known to neighbors as “drug houses” and are safe havens for criminal activity—even though they sit less than one half mile from Shannon Elementary School.
According to the petition filed to close 1498 Maplewood, undercover officers made at least seven purchases of crack cocaine from individuals inside the house. Additionally, police have made numerous arrests over the past 12 months at 1498 Maplewood for drug offenses or weapons offenses.
According to the petition filed to close 1508 Maplewood, undercover officers made at least five purchases of heroin and crack cocaine from individuals inside the house. Also, numerous crimes have been reported at the house over the past 18 months, including a carjacking, arrests for possession of drug paraphernalia and felony forgery charges.
The week prior to the nuisance action, a drug overdose fatality was reported that was connected to both locations.
“Prostitution and drug crimes go hand-in-hand, and both create additional crimes that are a scourge in our community. We’re going to continue to use Blue C.R.U.S.H.™ to target the hot spots where these crimes are occurring. We’re going to continue to use our undercover operations to get at the root of these crime problems that are plaguing our city,” said Director Godwin.
“We must continue this two-fold approach to weed out the drugs, guns and gangs in our community. Working with the Undercover Operations Unit, we are going to continue to build strong criminal cases against these individuals, and by closing these houses, we’re making it difficult for others to continue to sell and use drugs in these locations,” said District Attorney Gibbons.
The D.A.’s Office has a conviction rate of more than 95 percent in drug cases prosecuted as a result of Memphis police Blue C.R.U.S.H.™ undercover investigations.
The standard sentence for a Class B felony is 8-12 years in prison; the standard sentence for a Class C felony is 3-6 years. |