Thursday, May 15, 2008

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GANG ROUNDUP:
"We're Not Done,"
Sheriff Says

Sixteen members of the Third Shift Gang in Manatee County
have been rounded up and arrested by law enforcement;
two members are still wanted and remain at large.

Above, these two Third Shift Gang members,
Theophille Telfort, 21, and Anthony Brown, 18,
are still at large; warrants exist for their arrest.

MANATEE COUNTY, Florida [NMT] -- At a press conference on Friday, May 9, 2008, Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube announced the roundup and arrest of several members of the Third Shift Gang, as a result of Operation "Third Watch."

Operation "Third Watch" targeted the criminal street gang, Third Shift. The operation started in July 2007, and has resulted in the arrest of sixteen subjects overall, including 5 indicted by the Feds.

"We're not done," Sheriff Steube said. "We will continue to round up other criminal gangs and arrest their members who are operating in Manatee County."

The Third Shift gang is a major source of illicit drug activity in Manatee County.

Four members of Third Shift were arrested Thursday night; the others were either in jail or are still at large, a sheriff's spokesman told NewsManatee Friday.

During the Thursday night raid, authorities seized 17 guns, two kilograms of powder cocaine, 250 grams of crack cocaine, 900 grams of marijuana and some heroin and Ecstasy, Sheriff Steube said at Friday's press conference.

Currently in jail as a result of the sheriff's Operation "Third Watch" are 11 men:

Above, Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Jamal Edwards, 19; Terry Green, 20;
Brian Johnson, 19; Keith Parhm, 22; James King, 21; Ryan Simmons, 24;
Annuel Meranvil, 21; Lucien Alexis, 20; Emmanuel Meranvil, 22;
Tija Morgan, 22; and Jerome Williams, 36.

Five other subjects affiliated with the Third Shift Gang were already in custody and have been indicted on Federal narcotics and weapons charges:

Above, Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Kary Alexis, 24; Jimmy Lee, 26;
Dominic Orr, 19; Davidson Petit, 26; and Clifford Saint-Lewis (Louis), 23.

NewsManatee asked, "Who was the ringleader?"

Randy Warren, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said, "There was no ringleader, as such. It was whoever was out of jail at the time and the most violent; that was the person the others looked to for their direction."

The following agencies assisted in the Third Shift Gang investigation: The Office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, the State Attorney’s Office, United States Attorney’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Several of the defendants will be prosecuted by Attorney General Bill McCollum's Office of Statewide Prosecution, using criminal racketeering charges (RICO Act).

A conviction of criminal racketeering under the RICO Act (Racketeering Influenced Crime Organization) could bring a sentence of up to 30 years.

This is the third gang the sheriff's office has rounded up in the past several months.

In January of 2007, deputies rounded up members of the Brown Pride Locos. In July of 2007, members of the SUR 13 gang were busted in a gang roundup.

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