Friday, January 14, 2011

CPD's "Operation Sugar Magnolia" Hits Uptown Gang & Drug Sales

A very welcome press release:

Chicago Police Target Gang Controlled Drug Market in Town Hall (23rd) District
Six in Custody as result of ‘Operation Sugar Magnolia’

CHICAGO – The Chicago Police Department’s Gang Investigations Unit and Narcotics Unit, assisted by members of the 23rd District successfully concluded a 5-month long investigation on the city’s North Side.

‘Operation Sugar Magnolia’ targeted members of the Black P-Stones street gang operating in and around the area of Magnolia and Wilson in the Uptown neighborhood. This operation closed an estimated $500,000-a-year narcotics enterprise that is responsible for recent gang violence in the area. Two of the individuals charged were already in custody, charged with committing violent crimes.

During the course of the investigation, police were able to seize quantities of cash and crack cocaine. Utilizing surveillance, undercover work and other investigatory techniques, police were able to obtain arrest warrants on 10 individuals involved in gang and narcotics activity in the 23rd District.

The following individuals were arrested and charged as a result of this operation. An additional four individuals are wanted and currently being sought by police.
  • Marcus Davis, 25, of the 4400 block of North Clifton is charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance
  • Markus Moore, 29, of the 4700 block of North Monticello is charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance
  • Omari Robinson, 19, of the 2900 block of West Touhy is charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance
  • Roy Orr, 25, of the 700 block of West 76th Street is charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance
  • Brayant Rodgers, 27, of the 7100 block of South Harvard is charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Rodgers was already in custody, charged with First Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery with a Firearm for a shooting that occurred earlier this month in the 4500 block of North Magnolia.
  • Wilbur Jackson, 31, of the 4400 block of North Magnolia is charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Jackson was already in custody, charged with Aggravated Battery with a Firearm for a shooting that occurred in late November 2010 in the 5900 block of North Ridge.
All offenders are scheduled to appear at 26th & California on January 15, 2011.


Here's the story in

May we suggest, if you're happy about this, that you let our police know you appreciate their work?

Commander Kathleen Boehmer
Chicago Police Department, 23rd District
850 West Addison St.
Chicago, IL 60613
23ehotline@chicagopolice.org
Fax: 312-744-4481

Or, fill out a form on the ClearPath website to "Compliment An Officer." (For Police Officer's name, we suggest "Kathleen Boehmer," unless you happen to know a specific officer who was involved in the surveillance or arrests.)

47 comments:

  1. Markus Davis - 4400 N. Clifton -- what building is this?

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  2. This is major.....well done, and thanks for the scoop U.U.!

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  3. Tonight I'm going to disregard everything I learned on The Wire and go to bed happy that the cops have done something to at least temporarily damage the drug trade in Uptown and make Magnolia Street a little bit safer.

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  4. wow...i wish i can personally thank the CPD for doing this!

    hopefully more news like this will follow

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  5. Job well done!!! Email to the 23rd sent!

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  6. Suggestion: Show your appreciation for the CPD personally and take in a CAPS meeting to do so.

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  7. This is progress!

    One, thing. While having a snow ball fight with some of the kids on Sunnyside Mall this young boy ( from Magnolia, maybe 7) notices an unmarked police car and yells out "Oh shit it's the Po-Po." I asked him, "what is your problem with the police?" He said to me "They just shoot people for no reason!" I then tried to point out to him the irony of his statement while referencing the P Stones.

    While I congratulate the 23rd, it seems this problem runs MUCH deeper than the thugs who were arrested. I fear the next generation is ready and willing to step right in to the mix.

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  8. Thank you to the CPD. I plan to personally thank the officers on my block.

    I recognize all the faces in the pictures as "the regulars" on the block. I found this link which describes delivery of a controlled substance: http://www.criminallawyerillinois.com/2010/05/01/what-is-the-law-in-illinois-on-possession-of-a-controlled-substance-with-intent-to-deliver/.

    The work is just beginning. I see the next steps as:

    1. Ensure they are convicted and get the maximum for their crime. I'm sure most of the dealing and gang activity occurred within 1000' of Bronco Billy Park and Stockton pre-school which should increase the penalty.

    2. For the arrested who live in CHA or Section 8 housing, ensure the policies are fairly enforced. If eviction for arrests or affiliating with gangs is warranted, follow through with the process to make room for families who will contribute to the neighborhood. Once again, some of the addresses are withing 1000' of a school.

    3. Dry up the $500,000/year drug market.

    This is a fantastic opportunity to send the message that Uptown is no longer desirable for drug dealing and gang activity.

    To earn my vote, I need to see an alderman candidate demonstrate what he/she will do to ensure the above happens and create a culture where gangs and drugs are not tolerated in the community.

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  9. Thank you thank you thank you!

    I was beginning to wonder if anyone really cared about what goes on in Uptown.

    Two of those faces arew instantly framiliar and they are the ones I always see selling dope on Wilson. Thank god they are off the streets even if its temporary.

    And Marcus Davis and that address. Does he have any relatives we know?

    Let hope our court system realized the magnitude of the issue and doesn't sentence with budgets and jail overcrowing in mind.

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  10. Great Job CPD. Very happy to see this.

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  11. Glad the undercover officers are out in full force, and were able to get this done. I think the bangers are no longer scared of the SUV's that drive by and don't stop. This sends a message that you better watch your back if your going to deal drugs in the ward.

    They also know the spotlight is on them right now, so hopefully the pressure will be kept on them after the news agencies stop paying attention.

    Thanks CPD. Well done.

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  12. It all sounds very nice. What does it mean?

    Who is the real "supplier" and aren't these people they have arrested, small time dealers?

    How does the Black Peace Stone Nation...( who have been around for over 50 years) and come from the South Side...have anything to do with drug sales on Magnolia?

    Magnolia south of Wilson is a small street leading to Montrose. It doesn't house all drug dealers in Uptown.

    I don't think that this sounds as significant as it seems.

    Where's the big money? The guys who are really making money off of this?

    Getting street dealers is almost meaningless, as they are easily replaced. Getting the bigger guys involved is more significant. But then that leads eventually to upstanding citizens and representative of the community, very often. And we don't want that.

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  13. I see that you have seen "The Wire," Stu Piddy. I agree with you, but having said that, we cannot dismiss the smaller victories either. For reasons we as citizens may never know, the big guys are hard to get. If it took the CPD 5 months to get the low-level street dealers, how much more time and resources are needed to get the suppliers? So, kudos to the CPD for not giving up, esp. with their ever-dwindling resources.

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  14. Operation Sugar Magnolia?

    Well, I do declare. As I live and breathe, this code name has every reason on God's green earth to be spoken in an old-timey southern drawl.

    Well, hello, Sugah Maaaagnoooolya. Very nice to make your aqcuaintance.

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  15. Stu Piddy -

    It IS significant if you live across the street from this bullsh@t and this is the first good news you've had in a long time.

    Great job CPD! Thanks for making the effort. Now let's hope the court system doesn't fail us.

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  16. Little Tomato:

    I grew up on the south side. I don't need to see the wire. The "Black P Stone Nation" was gang whose members I went to school with.

    Why does everyone have to relate everything to a TV show?

    Drugs, illegal and legal are one of the largest industries in America. Ordinary Families in California and out west are selling drugs. U.S. politicians are involved in legal and illegal drug selling.

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  17. For those who aren't making the connection with the name of the operation (which I find to be completely hilarious), I offer this

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  18. Stu, I know that now, but I will admit, not growing up in an urban environment and witnessing the things you did, I was clueless about the drug trade. I have been in Chicago for almost 20 years and have learned a thing or 2 just living on Manolia. "The Wire" really did show that it isn't just the drug dealers that drive the business. It's the whole damn system and it touches the schools, the government and politicians, etc., things you may already have been aware of. I was not and it was a sad realization. Kinda makes you feel like the situation is hopeless.

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  19. Thank you CPD and everyone involved!!

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  20. Re Little Tomato's remark: True enough. Tonight at midnight on Channel 56 (UHF) they're showing the film version of Nelson Algren's definitive delineation of drug addiction, "The Man With The Golden Arm." The original book was written 60 years ago and is still relevant in its depiction of how the "powers that be" benefit from the "business" while the "little people" who get caught up in using and dealing are just so much disposable "trade."

    So how do UU's feel about decriminalization and treating the drug business as a public-health matter rather than just a criminal activity?

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  21. Clearly Shiller hasn't been doing ANYTHING about the problems of Uptown in the last 5 months of violence.

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  22. metalstud, thanks for stating the obvious. good job CPD.

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  23. That is Phenomenal!!!! Thank you CPD!!! I recognize everyone one of these A-holes and used to walk past them all the time (and call the police)! Markus used to asked me if I could be his lawyer when I walked by him! Apparently he needs a good one now!

    Good riddance!

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  24. 500,000 dollars? No arguments please, just a thought.

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  25. Thanks CPD for all the hard work!

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  26. Compliment Submitted. Tonight I'll be "pouring one for "my hommies"" who have the pleasure of sleeping in a cell hopefully for at least the next decade. Enjoy those showers boys!!

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  27. @ Stu piddy-
    Who do YOU think the real supplier is??

    What are YOUR other thoughts?

    Why are you mentioning a TV show?
    I don't get you- sorry

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  28. Thank you CPD- Really mean this. Thank you for risking your own life and all- what amazing men and women you are. Risking home and life and all- kudos.
    On Stu piddy's side I must say - seem like she is involved with money
    personified

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  29. Thanks to the police! Get the bad guys out of our neighborhood.

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  30. I think this is a great start - but we need to keep the pressure on and let these s**theads know Uptown is closed for business.

    Good job CPD, but KEEP IT UP.

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  31. I found this April 2006 story on uptownchicagocommission.org
    ======
    UNDERCOVER DRUG STING IN UPTOWN: Chicago police arrested several alleged gang members on April 4th and seized a number of guns and narcotics as part of an undercover drug-trafficking investigation.

    The arrests were part of a lengthy and continuing investigation called "Operation Taking Back Uptown," which involved as many as 10 gang members who live and operate in Uptown, and specifically out of the "Happy Wash" laundromat on Wilson Avenue.

    After receiving complaints at 23rd District CAPS meetings regarding gang and narcotics related loitering in the area, "Operation Taking Back Uptown" was initiated in January.

    Investigators learned that members of the criminal street gang, the "Black Stones," were using payphones inside local businesses to conduct their drug sales. Officers made 17 undercover purchases of crack cocaine during the three month investigation. The officers learned that crack cocaine was the primary narcotic being sold and that the "Black Stones" controlled the majority of drug sales in the area.

    Three handguns and an unspecified amount of cocaine and crack were seized during the sweep.
    ======

    It seems like we have had this type of "clean-up" before. You have to wonder if the 10 gang members involved in "Operation Take Back Uptown" are some (or the same 10?) of the arrested involved in Operation Sugar Magnolia. Though I am EXTREMELY grateful to the CPD for the success of Operation Sugar Magnolia, I agree with some of the other posts. They and we MUST remain diligent in fighting this gang/drug problem in our neighborhood. Whatever the case, this is hard evidence that there are others more than willing, able and waiting in line to "take over the family business."

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  32. Local Lassie, I think that targeting the drug business from the standpoint of it being a public health issue would be great, however, if "the powers that be" are involved to the extent that I believe they are, it would still be a mess for 3 reasons I can think of:

    1) Many of those involved at the lower end of the business would probably be the same ones who would rely on public aid. Taxpayers would have to sink a lot of money into something like that to make it work. Look at how resistant people have been to Obama's health care reform. And as much as those same people complain about drugs and violence, they aren't going to pay for drug addicts to get better.

    2) Society does not have many places for drug dealers who aren't dealing. Why are they selling drugs in the first place? Because it's an easier way for them to make money in a
    system that really, truly does not provide equal opportunities for all. Doesn't make what they do right, it's just the way it is. So, a real effort to solve the problem would necessitate a complete overhaul of the system-appropriate medical care, job training, job creation, etc.

    3) As long as our leaders and politicians are in bed with those involved in the drug business, there is little incentive for them to really want to end "the war on drugs." Our government allows it to continue and is complicit in it.

    For the drug problems of this country to improve, all those low level dealers and "little people" need to realize that they are being used and that the guys making the money
    only see them as "disposable trade." until that happens, whether drugs are viewed as a health issue or a criminal activity is virtually moot because money is more important.

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  33. Thanks for pointing out the 2006 action, Mama. It reinforces the idea that gangs and drug dealing is like a cockroach infestation--you can crush the ones you see under the heel of a shoe, but there are more lurking in the dark crevasses, ready to scurry out when the coast is clear. The only way to clear a cockroach infestation is to seal up everything they can use as food, then fumigate the entire building (sometimes more than once or twice). We need to seal off the things the gangs feed on, then we need to "fumigate" a few more times to get rid of their infestation--then we need to be ready to call in the exterminators for "touch up" calls from time to time when necessary.

    And for Stu Piddy, the Black P Stones have been very active in this part of Uptown for at least the past 20 years...the same way that Uptown has a reputation for being a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, it is also a patchwork of gangs, thanks to Shiller's effort to concentrate "affordable housing" here during her time in office. Someone once had a map of the various gangs' "territories" in Uptown--does anyone know the link for that map?

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  34. Seems to me that these kind of enforcement actions are timed very close to election time.

    Or, is this the last gasp the CPD will have before pulling out.

    Lots of wards are having their CAPs meetings cuts, any word if Uptown's meetings are getting the heav-ho?

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  35. Mr. Marcus Davis! Any relation to anyone in the Shiller administration?

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  36. Lots of wards are having their CAPs meetings cuts, any word if Uptown's meetings are getting the heav-ho?

    We got a copy of the 2011 meetings for the 23rd District, and while some settings have been changed, there are still 12 meetings a year scheduled for each beat.

    Mr. Marcus Davis! Any relation to anyone in the Shiller administration?

    We don't believe so. Lots of Davises, and two different streets for the residences. Calm down.

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  37. Decriminalization is the best way to address the 'drug problem'. Just ask the Portugese!

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  38. Everyone is thrilled when there's a major drug bust. It sounds great... all those arrests, all the drugs and money and weapons seized.

    Then, not long afterward, violence escalates in the area when gangs go to war to claim the vacancies created by the arrests.

    They will just keep coming. I notice there has been ANOTHER shooting close to the epicenter of the drug traffic in Uptown, and there will be no peace on Earth until the gangsters get it all worked out as to who "owns" the turf.

    But there will be plenty more shootings and there will be more civilian casualties.

    And not one young person who is hankering to experiment with hard drugs will be deterred from it by any of this- nor will the gangsters who step up to supply him.

    It will just all keep happening as long as we continue to pour resources into this savage, idiotic War on Drugs. There is just too much money in the stuff as things are now.

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  39. This didn't close anything. I've seen Marcus Davis on Wilson & Magnolia recently. He must have got let out.

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