Pubdate: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 2003 The Miami Herald Contact: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262 Author: Andrea Robinson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids) DEFENDANTS' MOMS CRITICAL OF RAID THAT POLICE SAY MADE STREETS SAFER For months, tenants at Lincoln Fields Apartments implored police and county leaders to do something to halt the rampant drug selling around their homes. Dealers left behind too many abandoned cars that attracted derelicts, and children were afraid to walk past them on their way to school. Help finally came in the predawn hours of June 24. Dozens of Miami-Dade police officers fanned out across the Liberty City apartment complex and rounded up more than two dozen men, most of whom lived there. The sweep netted 28 arrests and most were charged with racketeering and conspiracy, which carry stiff sentences. Miami-Dade police officials said the arrests were the culmination of an eight-month undercover investigation. As a result, they said, a small but violent drug gang was off the streets. ''The children can play outside, and the people in the community can walk down the sidewalk and do other things,'' said Miami- Dade Police Maj. Tyrone White, head of the district that includes Lincoln Fields. Since the raid, he said, police calls to the apartment complex have dropped. But no one at the 214-unit complex is cheering the raid -- at least not openly. Those who complained about the drug problem are mostly mute, afraid of reprisals if they say anything publicly. One tenant, who did not want her name used, said life at Lincoln Fields has improved. ''It's better,'' she said, before hurrying to awaiting car. LOTS OF COMPLAINTS The raid also has provoked a chorus of complaints from mothers of the defendants. They have organized a group called Mothers of the Same Kind, a female counterpart of sorts to Brothers of the Same Mind, a group of ex-felons that frequently criticizes the police. In the last month, the mothers have held several meetings and have passed out fliers in Liberty City to call attention to what they believe is overzealous and unfair law enforcement. The women say arrests should have been made at the time of the alleged sales -- not months afterward. The delay, they add, casts doubt on whether police apprehended the right suspects. ''We wanted to get rid of the drugs, but I don't like how it was done,'' said Carol Gaines, president of the Lincoln Field tenant council and group member, whose son is being sought in connection with the undercover investigation. A year ago Gaines met with police and county officials about ways to reduce crime. The raid was not what she had in mind. ''I don't agree with the charges they're trying to put on these young men,'' she said. The women claim the men are not gang members, but are lifelong friends lumped together and falsely accused. ''I'm not saying all of them are angels, but a lot of them were not involved,'' said Roagene Thorpe, the group's president. But authorities claim that those charged are part of the Lincoln Fields Gangsters and collectively have 301 arrests and 181 convictions, ranging from drug possession and sales to assault, burglary and theft. Twenty suspects have been charged with racketeering or conspiracy and face sentences of up to several hundred years. Two teenagers were charged as juveniles, and five more men are still being sought. Undercover narcotics officers purchased small amounts of cocaine and marijuana from two separate locations at Lincoln Fields over an eight- month period. Court documents indicate that the baggies holding the drugs often had similar striped marks. Prosecutors say the men often sold marijuana and cocaine in teams, and that several of them had tattoos with ''LF,'' ''Lincoln Field'' or ''Field Mob'' on their arms -- which they and police say shows gang involvement. Those sales, prosecutors say, show that the drug sales were being carried out in an organized fashion. VIOLENCE BREWING ''These people were conspiring to do things on an organized level,'' said Michael Grieco, an assistant state attorney. ``When you have areas like Lincoln Fields and they're running two different drug holes, that can lead to future violence. The entire complex was involved.'' The mothers group says police contributed to the problem by allowing drug sales to go unchecked for eight months. ''Police allowed those sales to happen,'' Thorpe said. But prosecutors say targeting the entire alleged gang is a more effective strategy than nabbing individual members. As the case against the defendants winds its way through the legal system, the women have become a fixture at the Richard E. Gerstein court building. Last Thursday, Thorpe and about 26 group members returned to county courthouse to see their relatives. WAITING FOR SON Bernay Jackson sat in Courtroom 6-1, waiting for her 19-year-old son Antwan Jackson, who was charged with three counts of selling cocaine or marijuana within 1,000 feet of a church. She took a day off from her job as housekeeping supervisor so she could attend. She was hoping to get his $25,000 bond reduced so she could take him home. When Antwan's turn came, Judge Manny Crespo listened to arguments by opposing attorneys for and against bail reduction. Jackson offered her own impassioned plea. ''Just because he's young and got in trouble at a young age doesn't mean he's a threat,'' the mother told the judge. ``I'm a single parent trying to take care of five children and I'm struggling.'' In the end, Crespo said no, citing Antwan's charges and his juvenile record. Jackson gathered her things and headed out with her attorney. ''I've been praying a lot,'' she said. ``Lord open these doors and let my son out. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin