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Totowa,
N.J. – Today at the State Police Troop
B Headquarters in Totowa, Attorney General
Paula T. Dow, Passaic County Prosecutor
Camelia M. Valdes and New Jersey State Police
Acting Deputy Superintendent of Investigations
Major Matthew Wilson announced the stunning
results of a nearly year-long cooperative
investigation into the drug distribution
activities of a Paterson street gang. Arrests
totaled more than 170 people, 29 of whom
were taken into custody during early morning
sweeps today in Paterson.
Those
arrested included members of the Fruit Town
Brims, a set of the Bloods street gang that
operated out of the Fourth Ward of Paterson
City. A large, multi-agency task force spread
across the city early this morning to execute
9 search warrants and 24 arrest warrants.
So far, 22 of the 24 sought on warrants
were captured. In addition to the arrests,
detectives prior to today have seized 12
guns, and more than 4,000 bags of heroin,
crack, marijuana and other drugs. More drugs
and cash were confiscated this morning.
Residents
and elected officials in the city had raised
concerns over rampant drug distribution
and violence in the streets of the Fourth
Ward. The New Jersey State Police Street
Gang Unit worked in conjunction with the
Regional Operations Intelligence Center’s
analysts to identify the Fruit Town Brims
as the primary drug distribution network
in the area. Troopers partnering with the
Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office,
Passaic County Sheriff’s Department,
and the Paterson Police Department arrested
drug dealers and buyers, and developed a
picture of the gang hierarchy.
Detectives
identified Tahir Canady, 25 of Paterson,
Alshaquen Nero, 25 of Paterson, and Shabli
Williams, 29 of Paterson, as members of
the Fruit Town Brims and leaders of the
narcotics distribution network. All three
men were arrested on warrants this morning.
Canady and Nero were charged with being
the Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking Network,
and other drug and weapons charges. Williams
was charged with Leader of Narcotics Trafficking
Network and related charges. All three will
be lodged in the Passaic County Jail on
$250,000.00 bail.
On
two occasions during the investigation,
detectives on surveillance observed men
fire weapons at unknown subjects. On both
occasions the subjects were arrested and
the weapons were recovered. Tyrell Floyd,
19 of Paterson, and Asmar Williams, 19 of
Paterson, were both charged with Unlawful
Possession of a Weapon and related charges.
“Once
again, through multi-agency partnerships,
intelligence sharing and strategic targeting,
New Jersey’s law enforcement delivered
a blow to the criminal gangs and drug dealers
that have been creating havoc in our cities,”
said Attorney General Dow. “The arrests
we have made during this targeted operation
sends a message to the individuals who are
bringing drugs and guns into our communities.
This conduct will receive swift and certain
consequences.”
“The
City of Paterson is safer today because
of the hard work and dedication of the multiple
law enforcement agencies involved in this
11-month investigation,” said Prosecutor
Valdes. “From the onset, this investigation
was designed to identify, arrest and prosecute
individuals and gangs responsible for violent
crime and narcotics trafficking in Paterson.
We are confident this large number of arrests
will have a significant impact on reducing
crime in our city today, and in the future.”
“The
people targeted in Operation Fourth Down
were identified as prime movers in Paterson
crime and drug distribution,” said
Major Matthew Wilson, Deputy Superintendent
of the New Jersey State Police. “By
identifying them through intelligence-led
policing, and taking them out of play through
cooperative law enforcement efforts, we
have made a very real difference in the
quality of life for the citizens in this
area.”
In
order to get a view of the overall crime
patterns of Paterson’s fourth ward,
State Police utilized the NJSP Regional
Operations Intelligence Center (ROIC) P.O.P.
Analysis Initiative. Under the authority
of the New Jersey Attorney General’s
Office the NJ P.O.P. Initiative examines
the criminal shooting environment in New
Jersey and identifies significant problem
areas, provides temporal and geo-spatial
analysis, delineates gang related shootings,
and draws associations between weapons recovered,
recidivist offenders, and shooting motivations
across jurisdictional boundaries. This initiative
information is necessary for combating violent
crime.
In
addition to the NJ POP initiative, the New
Jersey State Police is also an active partner
in the Violent Enterprise Source Targeting
(VEST) Program. The VEST program is an innovative,
multi-agency collaborative effort to disrupt
and dismantle violent criminal organizations
in New Jersey. This program utilizes the
resources of local, county, state and federal
agencies to share intelligence, target the
most violent offenders, conduct sustained
enforcement operations, and coordinated
prosecutions. During this investigation,
the fourth ward was identified as a VEST
target and one of the most violent areas
in Paterson. Additional VEST partners, including
the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office,
Passaic County Sheriff’s Department,
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and
the Paterson Police Department, assisted
in this investigation.
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