JACKSONVILLE (KYTX) - Today the Jacksonville Police Department announced the culmination of a year long joint investigation between the Jacksonville Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cherokee County Sheriffs Department.
The focus of this investigation has been gang related drug and illegal weapons dealers, many of whom are career criminals with lengthy criminal histories. Twenty-one individuals were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Tyler, Texas over the course of the past twelve months and were quietly arrested and incarcerated in Federal custody as indictments were handed down in order to maintain the operational security of the investigation.
Investigators and agents seized many weapons and commercial quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamines in Jacksonville and in the rural areas of Cherokee County.
Police Chief Reece Daniel commented, "All communities in the United States have drug or gang problems to a certain degree. The difference is that we made a conscious decision to address the problem head on and remove these criminals from our city and county. This investigation and the resulting arrests would not have been possible without the full cooperation and support of the FBI agents and their supervisors. Investigators from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office also provided invaluable assistance and intelligence information that proved to be a key element in making some of the cases."
"This is exactly the type of interagency cooperation that rids our communities of criminals who sell drugs and guns while recruiting our children into gangs. These individuals will all be prosecuted in Federal court and if convicted will serve their sentences in a Federal Correctional Facility."
Chief Daniel closed by saying, "I am extremely proud of all of the investigators and agents involved in the operation and the professional way in which they pursued this investigation. Many long hours and weekends away from their families were required to arrest these dangerous individuals but not one of them complained. Working with the FBI agents and the CCSO investigators assigned to these cases has been a very good experience and has resulted in a positive outcome for the citizens of Jacksonville and those who live in the unincorporated areas of Cherokee County."
Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell said, "many drug dealers move into the rural areas of the county and feel that they will not attract as much attention to themselves as they would in the cities. Many of these arrests were from the rural areas of our county. CCSO has always had a zero tolerance on drug activity and these investigations have produced a large amount of illegal drugs seized and several arrests. Most of our burglaries and violent crimes are result of illegal drug activity. All agencies must continue to work to help rid this problem from our society."
Persons Arrested in Drug Operations:
1. Mendez, Manuel Esau DOB 1/23/88
2. Cabrales, Servando DOB 1/27/88
3. Nava, Francisco Yuriel DOB 8/14/80
4. Arellano, Raul Benitez DOB 4/26/85
5. Gonzalez, Pedro III DOB 1/28/84
This group are gang members who were involved in the sale of narcotics, guns, and inspection certificates.
Methamphetamine Operation:
1. Moore, Randall Matthew DOB 7/30/84
2. Gray, Kevin Wade DOB 6/8/81
3. Mims, Jesse Lee DOB 1/3/88
4. Tompkins, Kayla Breann DOB 10/13/88
5. Ortega, Parfidio DOB 5/18/69
6. Fields, James Andrew DOB 10/27/78
7. Tarver, Andrew Willard Jr. DOB 9/25/90
8. Terry Ron Yates DOB 12/13/70
9. Blaine, Steven Ray DOB 8/29/90
10. Ormond, Cody Francis DOB 11/1/88
11. Adcock, Jonathan Mark DOB 4/13/76
This criminal organization has been responsible for numerous burglaries, cooper thefts, receiving stolen property in exchange for narcotics, sale of narcotics and putting guns into the hands of felons and drug dealers in Jacksonville and Cherokee County.
In addition to the locals listed above there are 5 other suspects arrested that are involved in this investigation.
