ARTICLE TOOLS

E-mail story

Comments

Printer friendly version

iPod friendly version

Share This

Text Size: A A A A

Chattanooga: 'A very bad day' for city’s gang members

By: Adam Crisp
(Contact)

Included in this article

A Friday “saturation” of law enforcement personnel across the city, aimed at stopping violent gang-related crime, resulted in 39 arrests, authorities said.

Police say those arrested all are known, validated gang members or documented associates of known gang members.

“Today has been a very bad day for gang members in Chattanooga,” said District Attorney General Bill Cox. “But it’s been a very good day for law enforcement and everyone else.”

Chattanooga police previously have said they know the names of 400 gang members across the city.

“Officers have been involved in an operation designed to disrupt and dismantle gang activity in the city,” police department Assistant Chief Mike Williams said. “We’re going after the most violent offenders, or the baddest of the bad, as we might say in street jargon.”

Police and the heads of just about every law enforcement agency in the city gathered Friday afternoon at the First Tennessee Pavilion at Finley Stadium to announce the arrests. In all, eight agencies helped track down the alleged criminals.

Charges against those arrested include attempted first-degree murder, bank robbery, and dozens of assault, weapon and drug counts.

Eight suspects have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with various federal crimes. Those suspects, if convicted, each face between 5 years and a life sentence in federal prison, said James R. “Russ” Dedrick, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The arrest effort continued into the night Friday. Officials said their list of gang members and their associates still is long, and they will continue to look for them.

Officials said they hope the widespread arrests send a message to would-be gang members.

“Chattanooga and the surrounding areas have been plagued by gang activity and gang violence,” Mr. Dedrick said. “Gang members are on notice that if their activities violate federal or state law they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

Police say the cooperation between all these agencies isn’t new. Local cops team with federal agencies once a month to track down suspects, said Lt. Edwin McPherson, who oversees fugitive apprehension for the city.

“We pull together all the resources from the federal, state and local levels,” Lt. McPherson said. “We still have several out there we are actively looking after. This is meant to disrupt those shootings and (the) day-to-day violence that keeps (police) so busy.”

Many of those shootings — three last week — are the result of gang feuds, said Lt. Tim Carroll, head of the city’s major crimes division. One gang member shoots another and then that person’s friends take revenge, he said.

Of those arrested Friday, one person is accused of fire bombing an East Lake home after the stabbing death of LaTony Johnson. Police believe those incidents were gang-related.

“Instead of calling the police with information, they try to handle it on their own,” Lt. Carroll said. “Most of these people who get shot, they know who did it, but they won’t tell us.”

Comments