Tuesday, May 05, 2009 Jacksonville, Fla.
News clippings
Sheriff's Comments from news conference.
Good afternoon, and thanks for coming out today. I'm Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford.
The arrests we're here to announce have important significance in our ongoing efforts to reduce violent crime and get the illegal guns and the people who use them off our streets.
Let me introduce some of the other individuals from agencies we've been working with on this case for about 18 months now.
Clay County Sheriff's Office Detective Andy Scott; FBI Supervisor Special Agenct Alex Silverstein; From the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Special Agent in Charge Dominick Pape; Assistant Speciat Agent in Charge Steve Donaway; Special Agent Supervisor Michael O'Neal; and Special Agent Gary Nehrbass.
We also have members of the Office of the Attorney General's with us today. These are members of the Statewide Prosecution team; Chief Assistant John Wethington and prosecutor Jason Lewis.
I also have with me our Assistant Chief of Homeland Security, Mike Williams, Lt. Ray Walden, and others who wish to remain off camera. I want to thank all of our criminal justice partners for this long and challenging investigation.
Here is some history: Since 2004 a criminal street gang known as the 103rd Street CHB, which stands for Certified Head Bustas, have been operating their criminal enterprise. Their membership was about 36 members and the original members grew up and attended high school together. They range in age from 18-24.
Their affiliates included members of other cliques, in addition to CHB. With those cliques' members and other followers, their numbers totaled 70.
Members of CHB accounted for the largest amount of criminal activity including: sale and possession of illegal drugs, weapon offenses, armed robbery, burglary, vehicle burglaries, theft, grand theft (motor vehicle) and aggravated battery.
Collectively the members of 103rd Street CHB have been charged with 204 felonies and 221 misdemeanors. Members have been arrested in Duval and Clay Counties as well as Kingland, Ga. The investigation netted the recovery of 21 guns.
BUT HERE'S THE REAL NEWS – we're charging seven individuals under the State Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations statute, meaning that our investigation shows their criminal acts to have been committed for the gang or to benefit the gang. The use of the RICO statute helps us eliminate the entire gang at once, as opposed to just prosecuting individual crimes committed by each member. And each defendant is charged with Racketeering and Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, with sentences up to 30 years on each charge. Each charge carries a $1,000,000 bond.
Here's a little background on how they operated: The founding members, Jeremi Chaplin, Courtney Frierson, Reginald Lewis and Antonio Williams, all now charged under RICO, were looked up to and respected by the others. Members earned their respect within the gang by their ability to earn money through criminal activities, including robbing other drug dealers, selling drugs and stealing cars. Sharodd Mitchell and Darien Flowers, although younger, quickly earned the respect of the gang by committing a series of armed hotel robberies. Each members'status was determined by the level of activity they were involved in and the money they "earned."
Through training and experience, the members and associates of a criminal street gang engage in various types of criminal activity with other members or alone to enhance their status within the gang and to further the gang's reputation.
They operate like a family. When one member is in jail or prison, they would send money to their inmate accounts and look out for their family members. The 103rd Street CHB members acted together to retaliate against rivals that "harm or disrespect" them. This retaliation includes fighting, gun violence and drive-by shootings. This is how they maintain sovereignty over their area and dominance over rival gangs.
They do have a sign, a tattoo, and although they did not wear common clothing, they often wore similar camouflage clothing. They "brag" about their gang and its activities on social networking websites. They also made t-shirts with photographs to memorialize members who have died or have been arrested. If they took a group picture, they would have tee shirts made with the group picture printed on it.
Jeremy Chaplin was particularly "respected". At 17 he was considered in "his prime" and had "street cred" that he earned shooting and being a gun slinger. He had a reputation for shooting up parties and clubs and got money by robbing people on the street, selling drugs and robbing "dope boys."
The 103rd Street CHB's criminal activity took place in Duval, Clay, Leon and Volusia counties, according to investigators.
At this point I am going to let the other agency representatives speak. But I do want to add two quick points:
Our Gang Intervention Unit works very hard to monitor the activities of local gangs. They are out there working to keep a handle on these groups and to create, through arrests and prosecutions like this one, a "chilling effect" on other groups who may be trying to formalize their clique or posse into a criminal street gang. And making a RICO case is as good as it gets for taking a gang out of play in this community.
Secondly, this is an ongoing investigation. We're not done here and other cliques or criminal street gangs should understand; RICO is a big hammer. We intend to use it to knock out criminal street gangs in Northeast Florida.
THANK YOU ALL.
I'll ask FDLE Special Agent in charge Dominick Pape and Statewide Prosecutor's Office Chief Assistant John Wethington to add anything they'd like to say.