Two rival D.C. drug crews targeted in federal indictments.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/05/23/dc-drug-gang-arrests-violence
Two dozen people have been arrested on drug and gun-related charges as part of a crackdown on two rival criminal groups operating in Northeast Washington, authorities said Thursday.
The arrests targeted members of a crew operating in the Carver Langston neighborhood, near 21st Street and Maryland Avenue, along with members of a rival crew operating around the 1100 block of Raum Street in the Trinidad area, prosecutors said.
At a news conference Thursday, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said the arrests and conspiracy charges are part of a broader push by authorities to aggressively target the crews responsible for driving a large share of D.C.’s gun violence and drug trafficking.
“No place is naturally dangerous,” Graves said. “Places become dangerous because a relatively small number of people who live or come to the place make it dangerous. Typically, these are people operating drug markets, often while armed with guns.”
Graves said the indictments stem from a new strategy, with federal agents and D.C. police moving to take down members of rival crews at the same time. Graves said this is the first time in memory that his office has simultaneously targeted two rival crews so close together in time.
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“One of the things that makes these corners so dangerous is that they typically have long-standing feuds with crews associated with other corners,” Graves said. “Past actions have dismantled one side of the crews. We believe that taking out both sides could have an even more profound impact.”
He said accused members of the Carver Langston crew were charged with drug and gun crimes, as were the people accused of drug trafficking in the Trinidad neighborhood.
The arrests capped what prosecutors said was a months-long investigation in which police surveilled the suspects with cameras and made undercover purchases of crack cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and phencyclidine. Authorities said the simultaneous investigations and resulting arrests led to the seizure of about 35 guns and nearly $150,000 in cash as well as a large quantity of illegal drugs.
Court documents show that many of the defendants have long histories with the criminal justice system. Some have been arrested more than 20 times, according to prosecutors, and one of the defendants has 10 convictions.
The arrests “will bring immediate relief to the neighborhoods that these suspects were operating in,” D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said in a statement.
The Carver Langston area has regularly endured street violence. Last month, six people were shot after police said two assailants got out of a car and opened fire on 21st Street. A 29-year-old man died at the scene, and the injured victims included a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old. Prosecutors said the investigation of the Trinidad crew began last summer after a spate of 59 violent crimes and 119 “bursts of gunfire” from January to July.
Multiple investigations are underway as part of the new approach of targeting rival crews simultaneously, Graves said: “If you are part of a drug trafficking organization … you should assume your organization is under investigation.”