LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky announced Tuesday that it has federally charged 13 people in what it describes as a gang-related drug conspiracy centered in Louisville.
The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman during a news conference on July 28, 2020.
Coleman said earlier in the day, his office unsealed a 10-count federal indictment charging the 13 suspects with armed drug trafficking.
The move comes after federal authorities executed 10 search warrants, seizing, among other things, 400 grams of suspected heroin worth approximately $40,000 on the street. They say they also seized $328,000 in cash and a number of firearms.
Of the 13 suspects who have been indicted, 10 are in custody, including:
- Kevin Henry
- Destiney Rhodes
- Levontay Townes
- Deonte L. Beason
- Frank Trammell Jr.
- Jean-Luc Henry
- Kevone Evans
- Darlyon L. Newsome
- Khalid Ashanti Raheem II
- Jason Logsdon
Authorities say the suspects listed below were still at large Tuesday afternoon:
- James Bivens
- Reginald Harris
- Pierre M. Travis
The investigation was a joint operation between the Kentucky Safe Streets Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
It was also based on a new approach to investigating violent crime, referred to by authorities as "Enterprise Theory of Investigation" -- an approach that looks at entire groups or gangs who commit violent crime, rather than just individuals.
Coleman acknowledged the recent unrest in Louisville streets focused on the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, but added that many were losing focus of some of the root causes of violent crime.
"What you don't hear are names of those we've lost in violent crime," he said, adding that "Black Lives Matter needs to be more than just a hashtag" or a "sign in a yard."
He cited the year's total of 79 homicides in Louisville, and roughly 300 non-fatal shootings, deriding the term "non-fatal" because he said it trivializes the impact of the shootings on friends and family members of the victims.
He said those numbers represent a one-third increase in homicides in Louisville this year, as well as a 100-percent increase in shootings.
"That's unacceptable," he said.
"Where is the sense of urgency in tackling these numbers? It's not present. It's not present in this community," he said. "But until this community has a sense of urgency in protecting these neighborhoods in Louisville, these are just numbers on a page..."
"If you truly believe that Black Lives Matter, then start paying attention to urban violence in certain neighborhoods in this city."
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