A federal grand jury in Chattanooga has returned indictments on 25 Chattanooga residents and four Marion County residents on charges of distributing, and conspiracy to distribute, various illegal drugs, and of illegal possession of firearms. Of those, at least 16 are validated or suspected members of gangs and four are accused of being drug suppliers whose customers are gang members, United States Attorney William C. Killian said during a press conference on September 28.
Many of the defendants have been arraigned and have entered pleas of not guilty before Magistrate Judges William Carter and Susan Lee. Trials for many of these defendants are set for December 3, 2012 and December 4, 2012.
As of press time on Wednesday, four Chattanooga defendants and one Marion County defendant remained at large: Alfred Ford, Quinlin Newby, Cortney Nelson and Brandon Morrow of Chattanooga and Pamela Walters of Marion County. Members of the public are asked to call the Chattanooga Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the United State Marshals service or the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives if they have any information on the location of any of these defendants.
If convicted, defendants could face up to life in prison, fines in excess of $2 million and life on supervised release.
“They all face harsh penalties. Some face a life sentence in federal prison, and as you know, there is no parole in the federal system,” Killian said.
The arrests are the first to occur as a result of a joint local, state and federal effort done in conjunction with the gang task force initiative launched in Chattanooga several months ago, Killian said.
“Chattanooga gang activity is a serious problem. Gang members commit violent felonies involving weapons, drugs, shootings and other illegal activity. The focus of the gang task force initiative has been and will continue to be on the individuals involved,” Killian said.
Killian asked for the public’s cooperation and assistance in addressing the problem of gang violence in Chattanooga, Marion County and all of East Tennessee.
“People in our area are entitled, as are all Americans, to a safe place to live and work. Prosecuting acts of violence committed by and on behalf of gangs will continue to be a priority of the Department of Justice and the gang task force. We are continuing our local, federal and state partnerships to address this problem,” Killian said.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Poole, Gregg Sullivan, Jay Woods, Terra Bay and Anne-Marie Svolto will represent the United States in these cases. The office of 11th Judicial District Attorney Bill Cox on behalf of the State of Tennessee will prosecute associated charges against more than 20 additional co-defendants.