Police announce changes to combat violent crime

PRESS RELEASE:

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department has made numerous changes recently to combat violent crime.

Chief Darryl Forté has moved more than 40 people from units across the department into the Violent Crimes Division to reduce violent crime and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. The changes are designed to build community relationships, provide more intelligence and information about those who commit violent crimes, increase the arrest and prosecution of prolific criminals, predict and prevent violent crime, and increase departmental communication and efficiency.

The Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA), which also recently moved under the Violent Crimes Division, is working with patrol officers and detectives from throughout the department to ramp up its efforts to identify criminals and the groups or gangs with which they associate. Quarterly, NoVA calls in members of these groups and notifies them that if a violent act takes place among their associates, the full force of law enforcement will be on the members of their group. At their last quarterly meeting, police identified several hundred people involved in violent criminal activity in more than 35 groups.

Chief Forté has assigned 28 uniformed personnel to the Violent Crime Enforcement Unit (formerly known as the Area Command Unit), another new part of the Violent Crimes Division. This is the first time in memory such a large contingent of uniformed personnel has been moved to combat violent crime in an investigative element. This unit serves as the Violent Crime Division’s enforcement arm. Should an act of violence take place involving one of the identified groups, Violent Crime Enforcement Unit officers will enhance their enforcement activities against that group’s members with everything from minor ordinance violations to federal cases. This already took place in the first quarter of 2014 when a homicide occurred within one of the identified criminal groups. Violent Crime Enforcement Unit officers, along with the Narcotics and Vice Division and their federal partners, effectively dismantled the group by arresting its members on multiple federal firearms and narcotics trafficking charges.

The Fugitive Apprehension and Arraignment Unit also moved under the Violent Crimes Enforcement Unit so all elements tracking down violent criminals will be in the same chain of command.

A new Violent Crime Administrative Squad within the Enforcement Unit will handle the majority of federal cases regarding felons in possession of firearms and other weapons violations. The Robbery Unit previously handled those cases. This will lighten the Robbery Unit’s caseload, allowing for more thorough robbery investigations. Likewise, detectives on the Administrative Squad will be able to dig deeper into federal firearm violation cases to uncover possible trafficking rings and the violent crime that surrounds them.

On the advice of experts in academia and law enforcement, Chief Forté and Violent Crimes Division Major Ronald Fletcher also have created a Violent Crimes Intelligence Squad. Incorporating experienced gang, homicide and narcotics detectives, this group will work openly (not under-cover) to gather information from the community and patrol officers about gang/group feuds, retaliations and trends. With the help of the Law Enforcement Resource Center, this information will be analyzed and distributed department-wide from homicide detectives to street-level officers. The goal is to prevent violent crimes among gangs and groups before it takes place.

KC NoVA also has provided numerous social services to those who seek a way out of the criminal lifestyle. The people with whom they’ve worked have been identified as being 100 times more likely to be a murder victim than the average Kansas City resident. KC NoVA’s Social Services component has assessed 98 clients as of March 21, 2014. In partnership with numerous community resources, they have provided 29 clients with substance abuse treatment, 18 with employment assistance, 14 with housing services and many others with services ranging from anger management courses to mental health treatment. Many clients cannot read or write, and 10 have received literacy and education assistance.

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Seven gang members indicted federally

no photo available for 44-y.o. Gary D. Smith

Our Gang Squad's long-term investigation into gang members came to a head today with the announcement of a federal indictment against seven Kansas City men. Their charges involve illegal drugs and weapons, but their sentences could be enhanced because of enhanced statutes that target gang activity. Here's the press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. You can see more information about the case on their web site: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that seven Kansas City, Mo., men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and for illegally possessing firearms.

The federal indictment is part of a joint state and federal effort to target criminal gangs and prosecute such activity to the fullest extent possible. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working in partnership with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target gang members for federal prosecution of drug trafficking and firearms violations. At a press conference today, Phillips announced two new strategies that will be employed to combat gang activity.

"Violent street gangs wreak havoc in the neighborhoods where they operate and have a dangerous impact on the entire community,” said Phillips. “My office, in conjunction with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, is committed to protecting our community by targeting illegal gangs and taking illegal guns, drugs and criminals off the street.”

For the first time in the Western District of Missouri, Phillips noted, federal prosecutors have filed notice that they will seek tougher sentences against five of the defendants based on their gang involvement. Statutory enhancements for participating in a criminal street gang (with prior convictions for drug trafficking or violent offenses) would increase the maximum penalties of various counts by 10 years.

Under a partnership with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, a full-time Special Assistant U.S. Attorney has been designated to focus on prosecuting gang-related crimes in federal court.

“We are utilizing a federal grant in order to make one of our assistant prosecutors available to prosecute gang-related cases in federal court,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar. “This is a good example of the partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. By working together, we are able to marshal more resources to combat gang activity and obtain tougher penalties against members of violent street gangs. We are sending the message loud and clear that we will not tolerate gang activity in our community.”

Today’s announcement is part of a coordinated national effort to combat gangs and gang-related violence through federal prosecutions of gang members and associates. The Department of Justice announced today that 38 members of various street gangs have been charged in indictments or criminal complaints unsealed today in five judicial districts. In total, more than 100 defendants have been charged, pleaded guilty or been sentenced in February 2011 as part of this ongoing effort involving U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Gang Unit, and federal, state and local law enforcement partners.

Click Clack Gang
Kevion Darnell Bifford, also known as “2 Gunn Kevi,” 24, his brother, Kevin Levance Jackson, 22, Prince Earl Clarence Gilbert, Jr., 24, Charles V. Williams, also known as “Cortez Hanley,” 23, Gary D. Smith, 44, Taj Runnell Griffin, 19, and Deron Andrew Scott, 23, all of Kansas City, were charged in a 12-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, Feb. 8 2011. The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests of several defendants.

The government has filed motions to hold all seven of the defendants in custody without bond. According to those court filings, the indictment is the result of a long-term investigation by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the activities of individuals who identify themselves as members of the Click Clack Gang. The gang derives its name from the sound of cocking a gun or “racking the slide” (putting a round into the chamber) of a semi-automatic handgun. This is corroborated by the number of semi-automatic handguns recovered from the Click Clack Gang and the number of photographs and video evidence of the members with firearms.

The Click Clack Gang operates in the geographic area of Kansas City that is roughly bounded by 27th Street to Emmanuel Cleaver Boulevard, and Jackson Avenue to The Paseo.

During the investigation, court filings report, law enforcement officers recovered more than 20 firearms, over 40 grams of crack cocaine, more than 100 grams of powder cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy pills and nearly $2,500. Three of the recovered firearms were identified as having been used in shootings with injuries; one was used in an unsolved homicide. Several of the recovered firearms had been stolen, court documents allege, one from as far away as Arizona. One of the recovered firearms had been illegally altered to a sawed-off shotgun.

Bifford, a singer who uses the street name “Two-Gun Kevi,” has at least one CD cover that depicts him with his face covered with a bandana and in possession of two firearms. One is a polymer frame, semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and the other is a machine pistol.

While executing a search warrant in the 3700 block of Wabash Avenue, officers recovered a video camera that contained multiple videos of various individuals and depicted gang affiliation; the use, sale and possession of controlled substances; firearms possession; and the identification of several individuals working in cooperation for the distribution of controlled substances.

Drug-Trafficking Charges
The federal indictment alleges that all seven defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine between Jan. 1, 2009, and Feb. 10, 2011.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, the indictment charges various defendants in five more counts related to the possession and distribution of crack cocaine. Bifford is also charged with one count of distributing cocaine.

Firearms-Related Charges
Bifford and Scott are each charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bifford was allegedly in possession of a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun on Feb. 6, 2010. Scott was allegedly in possession of a loaded Glock 10mm semi-automatic handgun on Nov. 11, 2010.

Bifford is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of those drug-trafficking crimes. Bifford allegedly possessed a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun on Nov. 10, 2010.

Bifford, Williams and Jackson are also charged together in one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of those drug-trafficking crimes. They allegedly aided and abetted each other and others to possess a loaded Stoeger Cougar .357-caliber semi-automatic handgun and three loaded Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handguns in August 2010.

Griffin is also charged with one count of illegally possessing a firearm. The indictment alleges that Griffin, an unlawful user of marijuana, was in possession of a loaded Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun on April 14, 2010.

The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, or any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses, including a money judgment of $100,000, which represents the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking, $2,438 that was seized by law enforcement officers, a 2000 Lincoln LS owned by Scott, a 2006 Dodge Charger owned by Bifford, and a late model Chevrolet Malibu owned by Gilbert.

Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sydney Sanders. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.