Police round up members of Campbell drug ring

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Police began rounding up 13 people Wednesday for their role in a heroin dealing operation in Campbell.

Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor Martin Desmond said the arrests culminate an 18-month investigation aimed at drug activity in the Kirwan Homes Public Housing Project.

The 13 were secretly indicted last week by a Mahoning County grand jury.

Desmond said of those indicted, six were indicted for their roles as being part of the drug organization. The others were people who were buying the drugs and indicted as part of the investigation.

The case was investigated by the Violent Crimes Task Force, part of the FBI office in Youngstown. The lead investigator was Campbell police Detective Sgt. Dave Smith.

Smith is the first officer from the city police department to be assigned full time to the task force.

Special Agent Todd Werth of the local FBI office said this organization is just one of many that deal drugs that are being targeted by local law enforcement at all levels.

“Targeting and dismantling these criminal groups through long term investigations is an important part of our community’s law enforcement efforts,” Werth said in a news release. “These long term cases complement the daily work of our area police officers and deputies and prove successful when prosecutors are equally invested in the investigation.”

Charges include trafficking in heroin, trafficking in crack cocaine, trafficking in firearms, conspiracy and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

Those who were in custody late Wednesday afternoon are Lamont Austin, 30; William Howard Brown III, 23; Briawna Renee Gray, 23; Louis Jones, 24; Alexis Myers, 25; Malcolm Myers, 24; Justin Patterson, 24; Kewuan Patterson, 23; and Darius Smith, 28.