MINNEAPOLIS — Authorities on Wednesday announced federal charges against 14 alleged Minneapolis gang members, including two they say are “high-ranking members of the Minneapolis Lows street gang.”
The alleged crimes include firearms violations and fentanyl trafficking. In addition to the Lows, there are also members of the Highs, Bloods and 10z/20z gangs, authorities said.
“These allegations paint a chilling picture of the violence inflicted by the Highs, the Lows, the Bloods and other gangs on the streets of our city,” said US Attorney Andrew Luger. “Violent crime levels in Minneapolis are starting to drop and I believe our strategy plays a part in the reduction, but we have more work to do and we will continue to charge violent offenders.”
Luger said the charges announced on Wednesday are individual charges, not racketeering and corrupt organizations (RICO) charges, as was the case with the 45 alleged gang members indicted in May.
“It has been decided to make arrests quickly, as these are violent offenders that we wanted to get off the streets quickly,” Luger said.
Luger said RICO cases are still being built, but it takes time.
“Our community needs a break from the violence right now,” said Sheriff Dawanna Witt. “People living in every neighborhood deserve their lives to be free from fear.”
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said these arrests are part of a general effort to reduce gun violence in Minneapolis, which he says has been effective. O’Hara said gun violence is “dropping to near pre-pandemic levels.”
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“We will not allow a small group of violent gang members to continue to terrorize our neighbors,” he said.
O’Hara also said that, as part of the MPD restructuring announced last weekofficers will be permanently assigned to the US Attorney’s Office as organized crime liaisons.
“These arrests will not be the last and the work will continue,” O’Hara said.
The 14 charged are:
- Michael Marshawn Dalton, 29 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Marquez Demar Hill-Turnipseed, 21 – possession of a firearm as a felon, possession of a machine gun
- Shannon Aaron Kapriece Jackson, 31 – possession of a firearm as a felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
- Cartrell Ismail Smith, 27 – possession of a firearm as a felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
- Kaprice Richards, 22 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Ohagi Charles Walker, 27 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Clenest Demon Wells Jr., 26 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Jermaine William Jackson Jr., 26 – possession of a firearm as a felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
- Adrion Kelley, 19 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Joe Lee Rudolph-Meeks, 28 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- James Edward Hollman Jr., 32 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Devon Lamont Holt, 33 – possession of a firearm as a felon
- Marvin Miller Jr., 35 – possession of a firearm as a felon, possession of a machine gun
- Dante Joseph Tyus, 29 – possession of a firearm as a felon
All 14 are in custody, authorities said. Luger identified Walker and Shannon Jackson as senior members of the Lows.
Earlier gang activity
In May, authorities announced charges against 45 alleged members and associates of the Highs and the Bloods, two gangs operating in northern and southern Minneapolis respectively. Authorities said the crackdown was made possible by the RICO law, which allows federal authorities to prosecute a large number of gang members at once, after first determining that the gang is part of a large criminal enterprise. It was the first time RICO had been used in Minneapolis since the 1970s.
