TRUMBULL COUNTY Grand jury indicts 5 in alleged crack ring

Law enforcement documented numerous sales of drugs.
WARREN -- A federal grand jury has indicted five city men on charges related to distributing crack cocaine from two houses in the city.
The grand jury in Cleveland handed up a 23-count indictment, said Gregory A. White, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The charges follow an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Youngstown DEA Task Force, Warren Police Department narcotics unit, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Arturo G. Hernandez, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, said the five were working together from Dec. 11, 2003, to June 8 of this year to distribute crack from two homes, on Woodbine Avenue Southeast and Kenilworth Avenue. There were a series of sales made to undercover law enforcement.
"The case is based upon the fact that there were numerous transactions," Hernandez said without discussing a specific monetary value. "They were sufficient enough sales that they raised concerns of law enforcement."
Drugs and guns
The case is also being prosecuted as part of "Project Safe Neighborhoods," a gun violence reduction program of the U.S. Department of Justice in partnership with state and local police. The program targets armed felons for prosecution.
"We are hoping that we have closed a drug trafficking operation out of those two homes and made the community safer," Hernandez said.
Charged with violating federal narcotics and firearms laws are:
*Lionel Hughley, also known as "Juice," 26, of 1648 Woodbine Avenue S.E.
*Kevin Thomas, or "Flex," 26, of the same Woodbine address.
*Talif Hameed, or "Liff," 33, of the same address.
*DeJuan Robinson, or "D-Loc," 26, same address.
*Gary Daniels, also known as "G," 28, of 1726 Burton St. S.E.
Warren police said they have arrested Hughley, Robinson and Hameed and that the U.S. Marshals Service took custody of them; the other two are being sought.
23 counts
Count 1 of the indictment charges all five men with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of base cocaine, known as "crack."
Counts 2, 5 and 18 of the indictment charge Robinson with distributions of various amounts of crack.
Counts 3, 4 and 12 charge Hameed with crack distribution; he's also charged in Count 23 with having a weapon after being previously convicted of a felony.
Counts 6, 10, 11, 16 and 19 charge Daniels with crack distribution.
Counts 7, 13, 14 and 17 charge Hughley with crack distribution.
Counts 8, 9 and 15 charge Thomas with crack distribution.
Counts 20 and 21 charge Hughley, Thomas, Hameed and Robinson with possessing with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of crack and cocaine.
Count 22 charges Thomas and Daniels with possessing with the intent to distribute more than 5 grams of crack.