THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2005

JOINT UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION CLOSES DOWN SOUTHEAST QUEENS DRUG OPERATION IN ONGOING PROBE

5 Arrested; 2 Others Sought; Drugs, Cars and Other Contraband Seized

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced the arrest on drug conspiracy and weapons possession charges of 5 individuals, including one of the ringleaders of a drug distribution ring based in Southeast Queens. Two others are being sought. The ring is accused of dealing up to $1 million a year in cocaine and other drugs in the St. Albans, Rosedale, Laurelton and Hollis areas of Queens County. The arrests are the result of a joint nine-month undercover operation conducted by detectives assigned to the New York City Police Department’s Organized Crime Investigation and Narcotics Divisions and investigators from the Queens District Attorney Office’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau. The investigation is continuing.

District Attorney Brown said "Today’s arrests are the result of hundreds of hours of investigation and surveillance over a nine-month period. This case is another example of the partnership that exists in Queens County between the men and women of the New York City Police Department and my office -- and it is a reminder of our commitment to continue to aggressively enforce our drug laws and work to prevent the violence that invariably follows those who are involved in drug trafficking. It is also a reminder of the fact that we continue to be very much committed to maintaining the quality of life and reducing the level of violence in our neighborhoods -- even at a time when resources are scarce and many of those resources are being diverted to protecting our City from terrorism."

Police Commissioner Kelly said, "I want to commend the detectives in this case for breaking the code used by the drug dealers, music terms designed to disguise communications with customers."

Among those arrested was Shawn "Snaggs" Williams, 25, of 130-16 233rd Street in Springfield Gardens. He has been charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree and face up to 24 years in prison if convicted. Two other alleged ringleaders of the gang – Karl "Shorts" Bryant, 26, of 196-22 118th Avenue in Hollis, and Jahmel "Mel" Holland, 24, of 243-16 135th Avenue in Rosedale – are presently being sought.

District Attorney Brown said that, "According to the allegations, the defendants Bryant, Holland and Williams ran the operation out of their residences with customers calling the defendants on their cell phones and ordering crack and/or powder cocaine. Often, it is alleged, cocaine would be ordered in coded language, with ‘R&B’ used as a reference for soft cocaine as opposed to ‘hip hop,’ which would be a reference to hard, or crack, cocaine. The orders, it is alleged, were generally for several grams at a time, sometimes for a customer’s personal use but at other times in larger quantities for resale. Once their orders were placed, the defendants would allegedly deliver the cocaine to their customers at an agreed upon location.

The District Attorney added, "It is further alleged that many customers were themselves cocaine distributors. Of the customers who purchased for personal use, they were allegedly working people with regular jobs who did not want to risk buying on the street, but preferred the ‘security’ of ordering from the organization. Drugs allegedly would be transferred in public parks, such as Montebello Park in Springfield Gardens and Wayanda Park in Hollis; or in the parking lots of areas businesses such as the Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant located at Baisley and Merrick Boulevards in Jamaica.

NYPD detectives yesterday executed court-authorized search warrants drafted by the District Attorney’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau at the residences of the three principal defendants. At defendant Bryant’s residence police allegedly recovered $7,000 in cash; at defendant Holland’s residence police allegedly recovered a kilo of cocaine worth $125,000 on the street; and at defendant Williams’ residence police allegedly recovered a .380 automatic handgun and 42 ziplock plastic bags, each containing $20 worth of crack cocaine. In addition, police seized a 1999 Honda Accord and a 2002 Lexus. An eight of an ounce of cocaine was discovered in a hidden compartment in the Lexus.

The other four defendants arrested were: Rosa Parker-Jones, 59, and Deirdre Parker, 26, both of 243-18 135th Avenue; Tahir Vance, 26, of 109-29 173rd Street, and Alicia Roscoe, 29, of 34-41 Linden Place. They were each charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree and Conspiracy in the Second Degree. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in prison.

The five defendants in custody were all arraigned last night in Queens Criminal Court. The defendant Williams was remanded without bail; Vance and Parker were each ordered held on $50,000 bail; Roscoe was held on $15,000 bail; and Parker-Jones was released on her own recognizance.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Paul Shimborski and Sergeant Ronald Torres of the New York City Police Department’s Narcotics Borough Queens under the supervision of Lieutenant Vincent Barklay, Assistant Chief Anthony J. Izzo and Deputy Inspector Robert Napolitano, of the Narcotics Division, Organized Crime Control Bureau, and the overall supervision of Chief Douglas Zeigler, Organized Crime Control Bureau. Additional assistance was provided by the NYPD’s Organized Crime Investigation Division, which is under the supervision of Inspector Brian O’Neill.

Assistant District Attorneys Mark L. Katz, of the District Attorney’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau is prosecuting the cases under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Karen J. Friedman, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Wilbert J. LeMelle, Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni, Counsel to the Investigations Division.

It should be noted that criminal charges are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.