A two-year investigation of an Inglewood drug operation led to the arrest of 10 people linked to the Osage Legend Crips, authorities announced Wednesday. Three men and one woman involved remained at large, according to the FBI.
The Osage Legend Crips allegedly ran the Stop and Shop Market in a strip mall on South Prairie Avenue, the Department of Justice said.
While the shop looked like a convenience store, the group and its associates cooked and packaged cocaine inside then distributed them by driving around Inglewood and delivering them in various locations, including the local U.S. VETS and Social Security offices, the DOJ said.
According to the indictment, the group “discussed attempting to make the shop look like an actual retail store and getting window signs to tell drug customers and co-conspirators when to avoid going into the shop.”
A total of 15 people were indicted in the case, officials said. Ten of them were arrested on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning:
- Glen Dwight Love, known as “Big Luck,” 46, of Pasadena
- Deshay Lewann King, known as “Shay Bone,” 45, of South L.A.
- Raythel Brown Jr., known as “PD Wace,” 39
- Clyde Ervin Love Jr., known as “F-Bone,” 43
- Deshan Love, known as “S-Boy,” 42
- Joshua Brown, known as “Lil Shay Bone,” 22
- Tyler Deron Scott, known as “Tweet,” 36
- Nathan Washington, known as “Big Hustle,” 40
- Roderick Agee, known as “Lurch,” 24
- Clifton Ross, known as “C-Boy,” 39
The DOJ said authorities continued to look for the following individuals:
- Andre Bailey, known as “Face,” 43
- Steven Edwards, known as “Squeeze,” 20
- Delshawn Johnson, known as “Baby C Rag,” 41
- Carnisha Connors, known as “CC,” 29
Wiley Venoy Ivory II, a 38-year-old Inglewood resident also known as “Slim,” had already been in state custody on unrelated charges, according to the DOJ. He ran the Stop and Shop Market with Love and King, investigators added.
The joint investigation by the FBI and Inglewood police started in July 2016 following a spike in violence involving the Osage Legend Crips and its rival, Inglewood Family Gangster Bloods, according to authorities.
“Through their alliance with the larger neighborhood Crips gangs, the OLC increased access to guns and drugs and has evolved from a local street gang, which has plagued Inglewood for 20 years, to a larger criminal enterprise,” said Paul Delacourt, assistant director of the FBI’s L.A. field office.
Some 200 officers worked on the case, Delacourt added. Officials also reported finding 16 firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition during the bust.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. spoke at the announcement of the arrests at a news conference on Wednesday.
“This is a great day for our city,” he said.