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Tulsa, OK – Clayton Johnson, United States Marshal for the Northern
District of Oklahoma here, joined by Chief Chuck Jordan of the Tulsa Police
Department, today announced the culmination of a strategic gang enforcement
operation that removed 146 violent gang members and gang member associates
from the streets of the Tulsa metropolitan area.
Dubbed Operation Triple Beam III, the goal of the operation was to combat
the crime and violence associated with gang activity in the Tulsa area.
Operation Triple Beam III is the third operation of its kind that has been
deployed in Tulsa within the past two years. The two-month operation
represents the commitment of law enforcement to reduce violent crime through multi-agency gang enforcement operations.
More than 40 law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, the
Tulsa Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (ATF), and other federal, state and local agencies combined
resources that served as a force-multiplier to bring the most violent gang
members to justice and remove deadly guns and drugs from the streets of
Tulsa.
“Operation Triple Beam is another example of outstanding law enforcement
partnerships that are in place every day in the Northern District of
Oklahoma,” Johnson said. “By working together, as proven again in this
operation, we can remove dangerous criminals from our streets and make our
communities safer for all of our citizens. These operations send a defined
message that the U.S. Marshals Service and our state and local partners,
combined, will not tolerate violent crimes and the crimes associated with
gang members.”
The objective and design of Operation Triple Beam III is to develop a
systematic, sustained approach to reduce violent gang crime in the Tulsa
Metro area by joining anti-gang resources from federal, state and local
partners, using each agency’s strengths to accomplish the goal led by the
Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force. With two previous and highly
successful gang operations conducted in Tulsa, the Chief of Police for the
Tulsa Police Department requested another such operation to combat a surge
of gang violence within the City of Tulsa.
"Once again, our collaborative efforts with the U.S. Marshals Service have
given us remarkable results in the area of gang violence,” said Jordan. “The
arrest of 146 gang members and associates has produced a significant decline
in our gang-related shootings and gang-related crimes. The citizens of Tulsa
and northeast Oklahoma can be assured that their federal and municipal law
enforcement agencies are and will always work in concert to target and
remediate gang-related violence aggressively."
Operation Triple Beam III, which ran from August to October, yielded
substantial results. Authorities seized 29 firearms, $20,000 in U.S.
currency, and $22,300 worth of crack, cocaine, marijuana and PCP.
Authorities investigated 35 gun cases during the operation and located and
interviewed more than 260 documented gang members.
During the operation, robbery with firearms was down 31 percent and firearm
assaults were down 23 percent, according to Tulsa Police CompStat data. The
operation also resulted in the following significant arrests and
investigations:
- Sept. 11, members of Operation Triple Beam III arrested four homicide
suspects wanted on three separate and unrelated homicides. Sought were
Dwaine Ryder, a 107 Hoover Crip, who was suspected of killing a man over a
dispute in the Parkview Terrace apartments in Tulsa, and Ronnie Jones (57
Hoover Crip) and Everett Wilson (Commanche Park Gangster associate), who
were suspected of conducting a home invasion in the area of 1100 East 63rd
Street in Tulsa where two people were shot inside the apartment and a third
was shot and killed walking along the apartment complex. The last suspect,
Jermaine Jackson, was wanted after confronting two men in the parking lot of
a busy Quick Trip gas station in south Tulsa. The two victims attempted to
leave in their vehicle, at which time Jackson was suspected of firing
multiple rounds into their vehicle, killing both men.
Members of Operation Triple Beam III arrested all four suspects in less than
24 hours.
- Homer Exom, of the 61st St Hoover Crips, was arrested during a traffic
stop on charges of possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana,
after a loaded pistol and marijuana were recovered from inside the vehicle.
- Johnny Brown, a Red Mob Gangster, was arrested as members of
Operation
Triple Beam III were attempting to conduct a search warrant. Brown was in
the possession of a stolen .45 caliber handgun, three grams of powder
cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. Brown was charged with possession of a
firearm and possession of a controlled drug, all After Former Convictions of
a Felony (AFCF).
- Marquis Clark, a 49th St Crip, was arrested for robbery with a firearm and
was also listed as one of Tulsa’s Most Wanted. Upon his arrest, officers
located a loaded 9mm Beretta that he was carrying.
Participating agencies included the ATF, Tulsa Police Department, the Rogers
County Sheriff’s Office, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office, the Claremore
Police Department, the Pryor Police Department, the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the Cherokee Nation
Marshals Service. In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern
District of Oklahoma and the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office
provided critical assistance to the operation.
Additional
information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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