Fourteen charged in crack cocaine ring near D.C. elementary school

Fourteen people face federal drug conspiracy charges after allegedly participating in a crack and powder cocaine distribution operation near a Southeast Washington elementary school, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced as a 21-count indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court.

FBI agents, Drug Enforcement Administration officers and Metropolitan Police Department investigators executed search warrants at 15 locations across the District and Maryland and arrested all 14 defendants, Pirro said.

The indictment charges each defendant with conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base and 500 grams or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of Hendley Elementary School in the 4th Street SE and Chesapeake Street SE corridor. The defendants are identified as Tevin Moody, Geraldo Landy, Norman Moore, Lenon Wright, Ali McShay, Lonnell Thomas, Marquette Paris, Jeremiah Prince, Joseph Moore, Raekwon Womak, Kivarrie Greene, De’Lonte Jackson, Derrick Manuel and Malik Heard. Defendant Kivarrie Greene faces an additional charge of unlawful firearms possession.

“These traffickers showed zero regard for the wellbeing of our community, even selling crack cocaine about 300 feet from an elementary school,” Pirro said.

During the investigation, authorities recovered 28 firearms along with 2.4 kilograms of crack cocaine, one kilogram of powder cocaine, 29 grams of fentanyl and 12 pounds of marijuana, according to the announcement.

The indictment alleges the defendants routinely sold crack cocaine in the presence of school-aged children walking to and from Hendley Elementary in and around the 4th Street SE and Chesapeake Street SE corridor. The government’s evidence further alleges that the crew’s open-air drug trafficking exposed children to persistent illegal activity in broad daylight and risked normalizing dangerous conduct.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office said the operation dismantled “a violent crew responsible for guns, drugs, and fear in neighborhoods across Southeast D.C. and Prince George’s County,” adding that the bureau used its Safe Streets and Homeland Security task forces to build the case.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher Goumenis of the Washington Division called the arrests “a significant victory for law enforcement,” saying the operation was driven by partnerships formed through the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force and the Homeland Security Task Force.

Interim Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said the indictments reflect law enforcement’s commitment to dismantling violent criminal networks through cooperation among federal and local agencies.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section. Supporting agencies include the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and police departments in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia.

The charges are allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.