Racketeering case draws DA's praise
By Jay F. Marks
Staff Writer
Oklahoma County authorities are poised to treat gangs as criminal enterprises in their efforts to stamp them out.
District Attorney David Prater and Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty pointed Wednesday to a racketeering case filed last week against members of a violent gang as proof of their new plan of attack.
"This'll be the status quo in Oklahoma City,” Prater said.
The racketeering charge filed Thursday against seven members of the Walnut Gangster Crips carries at least 10 years in prison on conviction.
The case includes 32 counts against eight men, with charges ranging from drug trafficking to drive-by shootings to murder.
Court papers claim the suspects are younger members of the gang who sold drugs and carried out violence at the direction of a gang founder.
The gang has been involved in a turf war since 2003 over an area known as the "Blue Jungle” that is its part of its market for crack cocaine and marijuana, wrote officer Keith Medley in an affidavit.
Police linked the gang and its associates to at least 13 shootings in December, the affidavit states. The violence peaked with five shootings in a three-day span starting Dec. 18.
Kenneth Jaron "Mooney” Packer, 19, and Dontia Roshawn "Goldie” Sweet, 22, are charged with killing Raymond Smith Jr. when he answered the door shortly past midnight Dec. 17 at 1818 N Jordan, according to the affidavit.
Packer, Sweet, Justin Tyrone "J-Style” Davis, Rakeem Jamall "Easy Money” Johnson and Catrelle "Baby Boy” Coney were implicated in many drive-by shootings in days that followed, the affidavit states.
Undercover officers bought crack cocaine and handguns from Remington Raymond "Gucci” Leathers and Derlon Antwon "P-Wood” Bray, according to the affidavit.
Davis, 20, also is accused of lying as a witness in a Feb. 23 preliminary hearing for a rival gang member accused of shooting him in October, the affidavit states. He failed to identify the man who allegedly shot him.
Marco "51” Hollins, another member of the group, is charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of drug proceeds.
‘We're not going to stop'
Prater said it may be too late to turn those people away from gangs, but he is optimistic community groups can help young people find alternatives.
Citty said he would like to eliminate street gangs, although he acknowledged that is not a realistic goal.
"We're not going to stop,” he said. "We're going to keep the pressure on.”