Crime Correspondent: Chicago

Sentenced Dwight Shumate, 27, of Chicago, Ill., to two years in prison for possession of cocaine.

Sentenced Dwight Shumate, 27, of Chicago, Ill., to two years in prison for possession of cocaine.

Sentenced Dwight Shumate, 27, of Chicago, Ill., to two years in prison for possession of cocaine.Shumate, who pleaded guilty Oct. 28, had sm...

Xavier Herrera was arrested after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration source recorded on videotape the officer trying to buy 3 kilograms of cocain

Xavier Herrera was arrested Thursday after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration source recorded on videotape the officer trying to buy 3 kilograms of cocaine for about $60,000, federal agents reported.Herrera, 47, is in jail in Chicago pending a detention hearing Wednesday to determine whether he will get bond or remain behind bars throughout his trial.The DEA affidavit filed against Herrera describes him as a middleman in the cocaine transaction, helping to arrange a sale between a government informant and a man named Fedrick Farmer.After Herrera's arrest in a Burger King parking lot in Summit, Ill., he waived his right to talk to a lawyer and signed a statement admitting his role, government records say."Herrera further said he would make $500 on the transaction," the DEA affidavit says.arrested Farmer, Herrera and a third man, Juan Gutierrez, who is described as handing the informant a duffel bag filled with cash totaling more than $60,000 in exchange for 3 kilograms of cocaine. The DEA affidavit also says the investigation into Herrera began after an unnamed suspect was arrested in March during an investigation of methamphetamine sales. The suspect told police he had personally delivered 20 kilograms of cocaine smuggled directly from Mexico to an East Chicago police officer's home, federal records say. The suspect placed a recorded phone call to Herrera in which the officer agreed to discuss a future cocaine sale with an associate of the suspect, the DEA alleges. The suspect has since "disappeared" and now is a fugitive from justice, the affidavit says.Soon afterward, another DEA informant called Herrera and claimed to be the associate of the meth suspect.The affidavit alleges Herrera initially agreed to buy multiple kilogram quantities of Mexican cocaine from the DEA informant during numerous phone calls and three in-person meetings at a Mexican restaurant in Bridgeview, Ill.During their fourth meeting, when the drugs allegedly were to be exchanged, Herrera was arrested.At the time of his arrest, Herrera had a fully loaded .45-caliber Colt semi-automatic handgun tucked into his waistband in addition to a .357-caliber unloaded handgun in the center console of his vehicle, the DEA alleges.Herrera, who was not on duty at the time of his arrest, is an 18-year veteran of the department.Police Chief Angelo Machuca said Monday he will be requesting to have Herrera placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case."It is regrettable that my department's image has been tarnished by one individual's actions," Machuca said in a written statement. "It bothers me to hear of an officer that has gone wrong because I do have an outstanding, dedicated group of officers."

Xavier Herrera was arrested after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration source recorded on videotape the officer trying to buy 3 kilograms of cocain

Xavier Herrera was arrested Thursday after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration source recorded on videotape the officer trying to buy 3 k...

Steven Harrison was addicted when he allegedly solicited bribes of up to $250 from as many as 14 Hispanic motorists during illegal traffic stops

Steven Harrison, 26,was addicted when he allegedly solicited bribes of up to $250 from as many as 14 Hispanic motorists during illegal traffic stops last fall.Harrison -- already facing more than 20 counts of official misconduct, intimidation and theft -- was arrested while free on bail June 20 on the West Side with 10 wraps of heroin in his pocket. He's now also charged with possession of heroin.Chicago officers spotted him buying the dope on the platform at the Cicero Green Line L station about 7:40 p.m., police said.Harrison seemed close to tears as he appeared Friday before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Rosemary Higgins. At one point, Higgins barked at Harrison, "Stop with the puppy dog eyes," adding, "You held a position in the community, but you have chosen to flout the law." Harrison, of the 3800 block of West 107th Place, has been in the County Jail, isolated for his own safety, since his latest arrest. He was fired by Oak Lawn in October after being charged with the shakedowns.His attorney, Brian Bennett, urged Higgins to release Harrison so he could receive treatment for his addiction, explaining that Harrison's health insurance benefits had expired following his firing and that there were no drug treatment programs that would accept him while he was jailed.Harrison's parents would keep a close watch on him once he was released, Bennett said.

Steven Harrison was addicted when he allegedly solicited bribes of up to $250 from as many as 14 Hispanic motorists during illegal traffic stops

Steven Harrison, 26,was addicted when he allegedly solicited bribes of up to $250 from as many as 14 Hispanic motorists during illegal traff...

Anselmo Zepeda"major" cocaine trafficker in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

Anselmo Zepeda, 52,a "major" cocaine trafficker in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois was indicted in December 1998 as part of Operation Crackshot. A Mexico native, he was a fugitive until 2005, when FBI agents and the Chicago police made a series of drug arrests. They noticed his name, compared notes and determined it was Zepeda, the man who trucked in millions of dollars worth of cocaine from the Southwest to the Midwest.Mihm noted that Zepeda was the main source of drugs for the Gangster Disciples and the Vice Lords street gangs. In Chicago, he supplied the Four Corner Hustlers."You were in the big business of drugs," noted Mihm, before noting that U.S. probation officers linked Zepeda alone to more than 500 kilograms of cocaine."That's more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine. That's a staggering amount," the judge said.Zepeda pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court as part of a rare, fully negotiated deal with federal prosecutors. Such deals are not common in federal court, where a person's sentencing range is often determined after an investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.The 210-month sentence would run concurrently to two similar 210-month sentences he is serving from federal drug convictions in Indiana and northern Illinois.Kelly of Chicago was convicted in late 1996 and sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for moving hundreds of pounds of cocaine in the Peoria area between 1988 and 1995.Involving local, state and federal authorities, Operation Crackshot took aim at the Gangster Disciples in Peoria and produced charges against about 160 defendants. More than 100 gang members went to prison as a result.

Anselmo Zepeda"major" cocaine trafficker in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

Anselmo Zepeda, 52,a "major" cocaine trafficker in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois was indicted in December 1998 as part of O...

Adrian Starks

Adrian Starks, of Chicago and Madison, who is accused of being the source of the heroin which killed Sarah Stellner, 20, in May of 2005, and Michael Ace, 31, who died in April 2005. Both died after using heroin which was sold to friends of theirs by Lavinia Mull and Dennis Dickinson, heroin dealers in Madison who regularly used Starks as their source. Starks is charged with two counts of first degree reckless homicide and one count of being involved in a conspiracy to sell heroin. Under Wisconsin law, anyone who is involved in the distribution of an illegal street drug that leads to the death of a user is subject to prosecution and Starks would be one of the few larger dealers to be prosecuted under the law. Already convicted in the case were the people who bought the heroin used by Stellner, and the person who bought the heroin used by Ace. Those convictions subsequently led police to Mull and Dickinson, who were the dealers who sold the drugs. Cooperation by that pair led to the charges against Starks, who is alleged to have supplied Mull and Dickinson with the heroin they sold. According to court documents, Starks repeatedly sold large amounts of heroin, in some cases 50 to 70 grams at a time, to Dickinson and Mull. That pair, who eventually were living together in Madison, would buy the drugs at $100 a gram from Starks then sell the heroin for $200 a gram to customers in Madison. After the deaths of Stellner and Ace in 2005, Starks moved back to Chicago, according to statements given to police by Dickinson, but continued to sell heroin to Mull, and Dickinson spoke to detectives in late 2007 as he was striking a deal to get himself out of the homicide charge. Dickinson told detectives that "everyone got spooked," when Mull was arrested in August of 2005 and for the deaths of Stellner and Ace. Dickinson told detectives that he called Starks to tell him Mull was under arrest in the deaths and Starks "said something to the effect of 'people die all the time. No big deal. It's part of the game,' " according to a police report of the interview with Dickinson, which was released today. Dickinson also said that Starks made veiled threats to keep Mull from telling police who her source for heroin was. Adding to Dickinson's problem was a burglary at his sister's apartment, where Dickinson had kept $30,000 in drug proceeds in a safe which was taken during a burglary. That meant he did not have cash to either hire a lawyer for Mull or post her bail to get her out of jail. Starks helped out by giving Dickinson 15 grams of heroin which he could sell and use the profit to get Mull an attorney or post her bail, the police report says. Even after Mull was arrested, however, Dickinson kept selling heroin in Madison and kept buying it from Starks in Chicago, he told police. After joining forces with another Madison man he would go to Chicago to buy the drugs and he complained to Starks that the gas station where they made their deals was in rough area of town and was full of gang members who, like Starks, were members of the Mickey Cobras gang. Starks then changed to location of the sales to motel room in a safer area. On one occasion, Dickinson told detectives, he and another Madison man met Starks at his home on Wolcott Street in Chicago where Starks sold them 50 or 70 grams of heroin, and set up a deal which enabled them to buy $2,500 worth of cocaine. Dickinson told police he thought the man who supplied Starks was also present at that deal, but did not know the man's name, only that he drove a dark colored two-door Jaguar which was parked outside. Mull was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the death of Stellner, who had recently moved to Madison from Crawford County and used the heroin at a party in downtown Madison. But before she was sentenced in the Ace death, he was a longtime addict who died of an overdose in the downtown Madison apartment he shared with another man, Mull decided to talk. She was sentenced to an additional three years in prison for Ace's death. Dickinson also agreed to talk and he pleaded no contest Jan. 24 to a charge of distributing heroin, while the homicide charge against him was dropped. When he sentenced later the prosecution has agreed to recommend that he be given concurrent time to the 200 month federal charge he is currently serving on a conviction for distributing cocaine. Assistant District Attorney Brian Asmus is prosecuting the case against Starks, while Starks is being defended by attorney Randall Skiles. The trial, in which Dane County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Fiedler is presiding, is expected to run two weeks.

Adrian Starks

Adrian Starks, of Chicago and Madison, who is accused of being the source of the heroin which killed Sarah Stellner, 20, in May of 2005, and...

Wesley Scott, police commander.

Wesley Scott, of Cicero, was charged with misdemeanor possession of cannabis and issued a traffic citation for running a stop sign, police N...

Corey Flagg

Corey Flagg is a former Chicago Police officer headed to prison in about two weeks to serve a 9½-year sentence for robbing drug dealers. But...

Eural Black,Broderick Jones , Darek Haynes

Eural Black was sentenced on Thursday to 40 years in prison, colleague Broderick Jones received 25 years, and ex-cop Darek Haynes received 1...

Rondell Freeman,Clint Linzy, Terrence Sewell, Brian Wilbourn, Robert Freeman, Senecca Williams, Reginald Booker,

Rondell Freeman, alleged member of the Gangster Disciples, was arrested as part of a joint investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Chicago police and the IRS, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's office. Freeman allegedly headed up a high-volume drug organization that controlled much of the crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana sales in the Cabrini Green Homes at 714 W. Division St. According to the criminal complaint, his trafficking organization operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and brought in a minimum of $8,500 per day. Freeman, aka "Fall" and "Nightfall," 31, of Chicago and other Gangster Disciples -- a total of 16 were being sought by ATF and IRS agents -- were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine in a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, according to the release. They were to appear in U.S. District Court at 2 p.m. before U.S.The alleged co-conspirators supplied Freeman with drugs, helped prepare and package drugs, sold drugs, collected and counted money, and served as lookouts for police, the affidavit alleges. They include Robert Freeman, Clint Linzy, Terrence Sewell, Brian Wilbourn, Robert Freeman, Senecca Williams, Reginald Booker, Syble Mcclutchey, Daniel Hill, Lance Olden, Deshawn Simmons, Marcell Thomas, Darnell Williams and Demarquius Williams

Rondell Freeman,Clint Linzy, Terrence Sewell, Brian Wilbourn, Robert Freeman, Senecca Williams, Reginald Booker,

Rondell Freeman, alleged member of the Gangster Disciples, was arrested as part of a joint investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Toba...