A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

NINETEEN DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH ALLEGED ROLES IN NARCOTICS RINGS THAT SUPPLIED AND DISTRIBUTED POWDER AND CRACK COCAINE

CHICAGO — Nineteen defendants are facing federal narcotics charges for allegedly playing various roles in two organizations that supplied and distributed multi-kilogram quantities of powder and crack cocaine, local and federal law enforcement officials announced today.

A joint investigation led by the Chicago Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration resulted in the charges, as well as accumulated seizures since last fall of several kilograms of cocaine and quantities of crack in the Chicago area.

Additional quantities of crack, heroin and marijuana, as well as approximately $100,000, 10 guns, and six vehicles were seized yesterday.

Chicago police and DEA agents yesterday executed multiple search warrants in Chicago, Calumet City, Crete, and Elmhurst, and arrested 16 defendants stemming from the nine-month investigation of alleged drug-trafficking.

Three of the 19 defendants were already in state custody.

All 19 defendants were charged with various narcotics possession or distribution conspiracy offenses in an 11-count criminal complaint that was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court and unsealed following the arrests. The defendants arrested began appearing yesterday in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings scheduled for next week.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, praised the dedication and teamwork of the Chicago police officers and DEA agents who worked tirelessly to disrupt these alleged drug-trafficking organizations. Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges with Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, and Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).

“Our top priority in achieving violence reduction is dismantling the drug trafficking organizations whose criminal enterprises are responsible for crime in our communities,” said Superintendent McCarthy.

“Our joint efforts in this investigation have made a real impact on the supply and distribution of narcotics, and the violence it breeds in the Chicago area, by targeting the source and holding alleged members and associates of drug trafficking organizations accountable for their actions,” he added.

“This investigation is indicative of the commitment and resources that are necessary to bring charges against the leaders of these alleged drug trafficking organizations, here in Chicago,” Mr. Riley said. “And because of the nature of these long-term investigations, the months of effort often go un-noticed until the results are made public.”

According to a 253-page complaint, the investigation, which began last September, determined that Odell Givens and Antwan Jones were each the leaders of their own drug trafficking organizations.

Investigators learned that [Odell] Givens and his organization had three main cocaine suppliers, including

• Phillip Jones
• Bacilio Lopez-Rios
• Maria Aguian
• Pablo Lopez (who worked together to supply Givens with cocaine)
• Bryant Paige

according to the charges.

In addition, the complaint alleges that Edward Parker transported drugs, stored drugs, conducted drug transactions, and collected money from drug transactions for Givens and his organization.

Parker’s alleged drug transactions for the Givens organization included supplying distribution quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine to other members of the organization, including

• Charles Bates
• Andrew Sanford
• Jerome Griffin
• Gregory Dockery
• Karvis Carter, and
• others

Givens and Parker allegedly fronted distribution quantities of narcotics to several of those same individuals, including Bates, Sanford, and Griffin.

The investigation further determined that Givens and Parker allegedly supplied Roosevelt Hamilton with distribution quantities of cocaine.

Hamilton also provided a place where Givens could cook powder cocaine into crack cocaine, the charges allege, and Patrick Harvey transported and sold distribution quantities of crack and powder cocaine for Hamilton.

Further, Givens and Parker allegedly supplied distribution quantities of cocaine to Antwan Jones and his organization, both of which also had a second supplier of cocaine – allegedly Edgar Delgado and Delgado’s associate, Javier Diaz.

During the investigation, law enforcement intercepted a kilogram of cocaine that Delgado and Diaz intended to distribute to Antwan Jones, the charges allege.

Antwan Jones and his organization allegedly stored drugs at and distributed drugs, including heroin, from the third floor and garden apartments of a building located at 607 E. 60th St., in Chicago.

Two individuals —

• Calvin Nelson and
• James Jones

— allegedly received, stored, and distributed drugs at the Antwan Jones stash house on behalf of Antwan Jones and his organization.

Nelson and James Jones distributed drugs to several customers of the Antwan Jones organization, including to Jarvis Paige, the charges allege.

On occasion, the Antwan Jones organization allegedly supplied distribution quantities of cocaine to Givens and his organization.

The charges against 16 of the defendants carry a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million.

Two defendants — Givens and Parker — each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine, while Dockery alone faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $2 million fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey D. Perconte, Stephen P. Baker, and Raj P. Laud.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
A list of the defendants follows (with best known ages and residences):

UNITED STATES v. GIVENS, et al., 12 CR 421
DEFENDANT AGE TOWN STATUS

• Odell Givens, 42 Crete, Arrested
• Edward Parker, 42, Calumet City. Arrested
• Phillip Jones, 30, Chicago, Arrested
• Pablo Lopez, 35, Chicago, Arrested
• Maria Aguiano, 28, Chicago, Arrested
• Bacilio Lopez-Rios, 36, Chicago, In custody
• Antwan Jone,s 36, Elmhurst, Arrested
• James Jones, 57, Chicago, Arrested
• Calvin Nelson, 50, Chicago, Arrested
• Roosevelt Hamilton, 36, Dolton, In custody
• Patrick Harvey, 55, Matteson, In custody
• Karvis Carter, 31, Chicago, Arrested
• Jerome Griffin, 43, Chicago, Arrested
• Bryant Paige, 45, Chicago, Arrested
• Javier Diaz, 45, Streamwood, Arrested
• Edgar Delgado, 22, Chicago, Arrested
• Charles Bates, 47, Chicago, Arrested
• Gregory Dockery, 47, Chicago, Arrested