Suspected Longview drug gangs busted

After two years of unraveling two suspected Longview drug conspiracies, law enforcement officials were ready Wednesday to round up the results of their labor.

At 7 a.m., teams of local, state and federal law enforcement agents began blanketing the Longview area, looking for 56 people charged with state and federal drug and firearms crimes.

By 11 a.m., more than 40 of the defendants had been taken into custody.

Twenty-seven people charged with state crimes are scheduled to be arraigned this morning in the Gregg County Courthouse. Their names are being withheld until after their arraignments.

The other 29 defendants — those charged with federal crimes — were being taken to the U.S. District Court in Tyler for an initial hearing before being transferred to a detention center. All but one of those defendants are from Longview.

"The arrest of these defendants should send a message to anyone who would choose to participate in this type of illegal activity that law enforcement will combine resources to stop it," Longview Police Chief J.B. McCaleb said during a news conference late Wednesday morning.

Two Longview gangs are listed in the federal indictment: the 12th Street Crips and the Davis Street Gang. The organizations are suspected of trafficking drugs and firearms on a state and national level, police said.

"Each gang is alleged to have maintained drug houses in which crack cocaine, marijuana, promethazine, pills and firearms were continually being sold," according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. "It is alleged that these drug houses were supplied and protected by the gangs. The investigation has uncovered evidence indicating that each of the houses is responsible for the distribution of a large quantity of crack cocaine."

The indictment does not include a location for the houses. It includes numerous incidents from 2006 through 2008 in which law officers said defendants possessed crack cocaine or marijuana with the intent to distribute it. A number of the defendants were carrying firearms during the drug crimes, the indictment says.

"The conspirators regularly used a variety of vehicles, locations and other methods, including cellular telephones, violence and intimidation, in an attempt to secrete their activities," the indictment charges.

The state indictments were withheld until the defendants are arraigned.

Along with the Longview police, the Gregg County Sheriff's Office, the Gregg County District Attorney's Office, the Kilgore Police Department and a number of federal and local organizations were involved in the investigation.

Local officials say they are optimistic the arrests will lead to safer streets — and maybe more arrests.

"As we get more of these defendants in court ... I think we'll clear a number of unsolved cases," McCaleb said.

Gregg County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Claxton said the number of defendants involved presents opportunities for law enforcement.

"You hope (defendants) decide to cooperate," Claxton said, "and sometimes that cooperation may lead to the clearing of other cases."

Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano and District Attorney Carl Dorrough said the arrests will get more than just drugs and firearms off the street.

"These individuals were also involved in violent criminal activity," Cerliano said after the conference. "It's certainly our hope that the (arrests Wednesday) will make Gregg County a safer community."