Pubdate: Tue, 19 Feb 2008
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Authors: Richard Winton and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

PROBATION OFFICER AND HER CRIPS BOYFRIEND HELD IN DRUG SWEEP

More Than a Dozen People Have Been Arrested in the San Gabriel and 
Pomona Valleys on Federal Narcotics-Trafficking Charges. Authorities 
Seize Four Kilograms of Cocaine, and One Kilogram of Crack.

By Richard Winton and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

A Los Angeles County probation officer and her boyfriend, a 
high-ranking member of a Pomona Crips street gang, have been arrested 
along with a dozen other gang associates on federal 
narcotics-trafficking charges, authorities said Monday.

County Probation Officer Crystal Dillard was arrested last month 
along with her boyfriend Jerron Johns, 27, following a yearlong 
investigation, authorities said. Dillard is suspected of 
participating in multiple crack cocaine transactions, including one 
in which she was accompanied by a young child.

The narcotics probe stemmed in part from an investigation into 
Dillard and Johns, a known member of the Pomona Crips gang called the 
Westside Mafia, with several felony drug convictions going back to 
2000, authorities said.

"It's almost one of those stories you hear in Hollywood about drug 
trafficking and kingpins," said Pomona Police Chief Joe Romero, whose 
department was part of the task force that made the arrests. Romero 
described Dillard as a bad apple who "put a stain" on her department.

"The probation officer is one of the bad guys," Romero said.

"Anybody that would sell their badge, whether it's an FBI badge . . . 
or a probation officer" is a disgrace to law enforcement, he said.

Dillard and Johns, of San Bernardino, are both in federal custody. 
Two other defendants are in state facilities and 10 other associates 
were arrested Monday morning in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys 
during a multi-agency operation led by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the Pomona police, the Drug Enforcement Administration 
and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Dillard, according to federal officials, works in the probation 
department's Compton office. An FBI official said Dillard used her 
official vehicle to transport narcotics.

Several defendants remain at large, including Raymond "Ray Dog" King, 
37, who authorities say is a gang leader and a main supplier of crack 
cocaine in the Pomona area.

A 17-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury accuses 23 
defendants of participating in a drug ring that trafficked in 
cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. The indictment documents a 
series of transactions involving kilogram quantities of cocaine.

Twice in April 2007, Dillard allegedly delivered crack cocaine, once 
dropping it off under a car in a Vons market parking lot in Upland 
and another time at a trash can at a Chevron station in Claremont, 
according to court documents. The drugs were retrieved by Johns and 
sold to an informant, the documents stated.

During an April 2007, drug drop at the Chevron, Dillard had a child 
in her car, the court record states. In May 2007, Johns made another 
drug deal in Dillard's car, officials say.

According to San Bernardino County court records in 2005, the county 
won a default child-support judgment against Johns and named a 
"Crystal Dillard" as the other parent. Johns, who is also known as 
"Japs," was arrested Jan. 30 after various drug transactions, during 
which he allegedly sold nearly a kilogram of crack cocaine to 
informants who were working with investigators, according to court documents.

Both Johns and King face potential sentences of life without parole 
because of prior drug-related convictions. King, the indictment 
indicates, was the source of a large amount of drugs in the case and 
operated several drug stash homes in the Pomona area.

Authorities identified the others arrested as Jeremiah Johnson, 29; 
Matthew Moore, 27; Carl Ingram, 29; Karriem Bradford, 34; Nekea 
Rojas, 28; Miracle Wilkerson, 30; Alicia Bass, 23; Willie Ward, 35; 
Michael Woods, 37; and Eric Quintin Massengale, 46.

The two defendants already in state custody are Lakiea Jones, 27 and 
Maleek Jenkins, 31. In addition to King, investigators are still 
seeking several others named in the indictment: Arif Habib, 26; Larry 
Kirk, 27; Jamie Bailey, 44; April Green, 32; Brandi Hall, 28; Joseph 
Crawford, 39; and James Dixon, 39.

"This is the fourth successful operation targeting street gangs in as 
many months," said U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien. "We will continue to 
work with local authorities to go after the worst street gangs that 
traffic in narcotics and terrorize neighborhoods with their violence."

Investigators during the operation seized approximately 4 kilograms 
of cocaine, about 1 kilogram of crack cocaine and several firearms.

"The FBI is proud of its successful partnership with the Pomona 
Police Department, the DEA and its other law enforcement partners, 
which has resulted in the removal of violent gang members from the 
streets of Pomona," said Salvador Hernandez, assistant director in 
charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake