BOSTON, May 21, 2013—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today joined Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis to deliver the following remarks on Operation H, a long-term investigation targeting drug distribution and suppressing violent crime in the area of Roxbury’s H-Block and surrounding streets:
“Beginning in January of this year and continuing right through last week, officers and detectives of the Boston Police Drug Control Unit targeted drug-related crime in the area of Roxbury’s H-Block and several nearby streets. For the past two months, prosecutors assigned to our Gang Unit have been putting those cases into the Suffolk County Special Grand Jury.
“On Wednesday, the grand jury returned 32 indictments charging 14 defendants with crack cocaine and heroin distribution. Ten of those 14 have previously been charged with gun offenses, violent crimes, or, more often, both. They plied their trade brazenly, in broad daylight, on some of the area’s busiest streets, destabilizing the community and bringing fear to the people and families who work there.
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley discusses a long-term effort aimed at investigating drug distribution and suppressing violent crime with Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis and ranking Boston Police officials.
“But that’s not all. Based on the work of this partnership, we obtained complaints against an additional 45 defendants in Roxbury District Court and recommended that four more defendants be prosecuted in federal court. More than a dozen of these defendants also have prior violent crime or gun charges. And we expect even more charges after search warrants are executed at various locations in the target area.
“Today, the partnership of Boston Police and Suffolk prosecutors has taken dozens of offenders off the street and made Roxbury a safer place because of it. It shouldn’t matter whether you work on Boylston Street or Humboldt Ave – every person in Boston deserves a safe, stable neighborhood to live and raise a family.
“The evidence strongly suggests that these defendants are involved in the area’s drug trade, but we also believe they’re involved in or have knowledge of the area’s violent crime. We’re fully aware that in this target area, there have been three fatal shootings, nine non-fatal shootings, nine gun arrests, and 17 calls for shots fired in this region since the year began. This includes the shooting of a 13-year-old boy whose only crime was walking to church for choir practice one evening in his own neighborhood.
“This operation has been an almost daily effort to suppress that violence. It was supported by extensive surveillance. Today’s arrests are mainly for drug-related offenses, but let’s not kid ourselves – the nexus of drugs and violent crime is very real in Boston and every other major city in America. Sometimes the best tool for taking a violent offender out of the game isn’t a shooting case with a reluctant witness – it’s a drug case that can’t be threatened, intimidated, or bought off.
“Last month, well before this morning’s sweep, multi-disciplinary Ceasefire teams engaged these defendants and others. They were offered every service they might need to lay down their arms, renounce their rivalries, and stem the flow of deadly drugs into this neighborhood. To put it bluntly, they rejected the carrot and today they’re getting the stick.
“But these defendants won’t be the only ones affected by today’s sweep. We’re mindful of younger siblings and others in some offenders’ households who might benefit from intervention and diversion services. We’ll reach out to those youngsters as well to offer them a different path. Those young people deserve a chance to build their own lives, away from the negative influence of these defendants. They deserve positive role models concerned for their physical and emotional well-being. We’re not giving up on them, and we’ll never give up on the chance to reach at-risk youth before they end up in serious trouble.
“And I want to make one final point. The warmer weather is here. Summer is right around the corner. Let this morning’s events set a tone for the months to come – we’re not going to tolerate violent crime and drug feuds on Boston’s streets. If you pick up a gun, if you sell dope, if you bring chaos to your community, we’re coming for you, and we’ll use every tool at our disposal to take you out of the game. Thank you.”
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
