Weekend Roundup...
What BETTER way to start off a weekend (here in Fort Wayne, anyway), than with a MAJOR drug (ring) bust, eh?
Yesterday I talked about the FEDS coming to town (more specifically, the FBI) to work with our GANG problems.
Well, seems the FBI has been here for a spell already.
(I've also seen my share of U/C "Crown Vics" that are not local)
And they've been pretty damn busy.
We're talking that GOOD kind of busy too...the BEST kind (imho).
Here's the link to the story. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090529/LOCAL/305299996/1002/LOCAL
First off, allow me to congratulate ALL those involved. This is a damn fine way to start off MY weekend.
It must be the ROMANTIC in me...I've ALWAYS loved "Happy Endings".
And like I stated yesterday, our local police cannot handle jobs of THIS magnitude ALONE. It takes a concerned effort by SEVERAL agencies, including the Allen County Sheriff's Department, to make stuff like this happen.
Just goes to show you that when the going gets tough, the tough WILL get going. Second, Although I'm a bit surprised that the DEA wasn't mentioned (probably will be involved soon enough NOW), I am glad to see an increased FBI presence in Fort Wayne.
I've said time and again that this is a small city with all these BIG city problems...likes GANGS and DRUGS.
Guess that REALITY CHECK meant something after all.
Next, you have to really "get to know" the area to fully understand the scope of something like this. Just last year, we had a SIX MILLION DOLLAR POT BUST up near Harlan, Indiana.
That was also a multi-agency take down.
Now, I'll be the first one to tell you that any "war on drugs" CAN be won...it just takes some creative, and sometimes forceful tactics, a ton of persistence, and a bit of luck now and again. And it's DAMN good to see that these agencies involved in this latest drug bust had the tenacity of a junkyard dog on a bad day! Fort Wayne HAS a drug problem...that's a given.
Phil Marx, a good friend, who lives less than 2 miles north of me can tell you AS MUCH. He's also "lived the adventure", while trying to make his neighborhood livable for all. And after damn near 13 years, he's FINALLY starting to see a speck of light at the end of the tunnel.
Fortunately, my neighborhood isn't AS BAD...yet (couldn't tell by THESE pictures), but I've predicted that it's coming down here like a jail on wheels.
I've seen the "people" become more and more typical of what I know to be "dubious" in nature.These are the type of people you could ONLY get to know IF you were into drugs, or shared a holding cell at the downtown lockup. Yeah, it's THAT obvious.
When you can smoke pot OUTSIDE on your front lawn in the middle of the day, or stroll down the street, toking on a doobie...you (the city) HAVE a drug problem. I could say with confidence that about 80% of those living in my neighborhood have illegal drugs IN their lives, either by dealing or (definitely) by USING. Now that doesn't bode well for ANY neighborhood, does it?
The drug bust that went down, as chronicled in the article was a VERY sophisticated operation, make NO mistake about that.
I told my wife that I had to admire the manner in which one Andre Hutchins conducted "business".
I said if *I* were to deal drugs, the LAST thing I would do is live in the area I was dealing in....and I would keep my mitts off the "product", using underlings to "do the nasty".
This was a well thought out deal, but after a lengthy investigation, proved unable to stave off the authorities.
The sad part was that this "CEO of Cocaine" had his 72 year old MOM involved (her house was a stash house).
What a damn piece of crap.
A total of FIFTEEN people have been charged (click on pictures to ENLARGE them), and over $200,000 of Cocaine has been seized. And you can bet good money that damn near EVERYTHING ELSE these people OWN will be seized as well...the FEDS do so like to be "thorough", trust me.
Cripes, this setup even included TWO storage units, and was spread out all over the city. Like I said, this WAS one well thought out drug ring. Hope we can't chalk that up to the "educational" system....that's the wrong message to send.
And if there is ONE "saving grace" to ALL these arrests, it's that the FEDS will be charging them, and NOT the local authorities, because I would hate as hell to see these cases go before Fort Wayne's PROSECUTOR.
They'd all plea-bargain their asses back out on the street.
The Feds aren't as "understanding" in that regard. If anything, they will keep these perps on a VERY "short leash" and perhaps even USE them to get people HIGHER UP the "food chain", as it were.They may become C.I.s (confidential informants) for the Feds. But one misstep, and these perps get slammed back in the hoosegow SO damn fast, they won't know what day it is.








Federal prosecution is WAY better than local prosecution (and especially in THIS city)...any day.
Funny thing, I could swear I saw Andre Hutchins (or someone that looked a helluva lot like him) a while back, when a white Ford Taurus parked along the street, and the man got out and took a "brick of something" ,wrapped in plastic, from under the damn HOOD of the car, before driving off up the street. Luckily, I got the plate number and passed it on.
Maybe it meant something...maybe not.
I don't do anything for recognition or "glory"...I do what I do to make things safer for ANYONE willing to want to live here, and basically bother no one in the process. Not an impossible thing to want, right?
I emailed that information (along with pictures) along to our quadrant captain, in the hope it would mean something.
And if there's ONE thing I have learned in life, it's to keep those EYES and EARS OPEN!
Oh, and not be shy when opening one's MOUTH when necessary, too...(thanks, Mom & Dad).
Alright...make that TWO things, then.
So this newly-formed Safe Streets Task Force has made it's mark.
Now THAT is entertainment, people!
I can only hope the FBI does AS WELL when dealing with our GANG problems.
There still are some GOOD federal agencies around....and not all of them are found in Washington, D.C.
Some are as close as your own city.
Yeah, when it comes to "city" living, I tend to think of Philly...and the rowhouses. Living HERE (in Fort Wayne) is more RURAL to me, but is somehow 5-10 times MORE filled with anxiety and tension. Must be the OTHER people, because we don't bug anyone UNLESS someone bugs US first. That's on THEM, the bad guys, and not us, the good guys.
Here is this city of 1/10th the population of Philly...with about the same level of crime (per capita)...amazing.
But as long as the FEDS want to camp out here and work with local law-enforcement to rid this city of as much of it's "issues" as is humanly possible...I've got NO complaints, whatsoever.
Do what you gotta do, people.
And if YOU ever wish to talk with ME, the FWPD can point you all in the right direction.
My door is ALWAYS open to you in law-enforcement.
I am willing to help in any way I can...
I took that same oath, and was never "unsworn", so I take that to mean I still have a duty to uphold to this nation, and it's people.
Yeah...I can live with that.
Now, get yourselves outside and enjoy the weekend.
And, as always,
Stay safe out there, America.