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Press Release
United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger, ATF Special Agent in Charge for the St. Paul Field Division James C. Modzelewski, Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau and Hennepin County Attorney Michael O. Freeman today announced a federal indictment charging seven members of the 10z and 20z street gangs with crimes related to a multi-year gang war with their rivals, which included a shooting in August 2014 outside of the Hennepin County Medical Center. The defendants include both leaders and other members of the 10z and 20z. They are charged with conspiracy to possess firearms in the furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The defendants are expected to make initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn.
“Today’s indictment marks the sixth violent street gang that this office has indicted since 2014,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “Street gangs trafficking heroin and other drugs in Minnesota are engaged in violence against one another and endangering the communities in which innocent civilians live and work. We are using every tool at our disposal to investigate and prosecute the members of these gangs who use firearms to protect their illegal drug trade and attempt to expand their areas of operations. Working with both federal and local law enforcement, my office remains focused on violent street gangs and the harm they cause to our communities. We will continue to go neighborhood to neighborhood to stop the gang wars that so often accompany drug trafficking.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau said: “This indictment is a true testament to the partnerships and hard work of the MPD Weapons Unit, MPD’s Third Precinct Community Response Team, ATF and the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Our hope is this sends a strong message to those who participate in gang violence that they will be held accountable for putting innocent lives in danger. Over the course of the MPD investigation, more than two dozen guns have been linked to this gang, which has been responsible for 50 different shooting incidents in Minneapolis in the past year.”
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, St. Paul Field Division Special Agent in Charge James Modzelewski said: “ATF’s core mission, enforcing laws that prohibit misuse of firearms, have placed ATF in the center of these violent gang investigations along with our local law enforcement partner, the Minneapolis Police Department. I am confident that this investigation will significantly impact the flow of illegal firearms and criminal use of those firearms on the streets.”
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said: “We are thankful the U. S. Attorney’s Office has indicted these extremely dangerous men. We have been prosecuting some of the same men, such as Percy Lacey who took part in a wild shootout by the Hennepin County Medical Center last summer. Bringing a coordinated state and federal prosecution to break up these gangs will be a big help in our mutual goal of reducing gun violence in Minneapolis.”
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, between at least January 2013 and July 2015, the defendants were active members of two closely associated street gangs known as the 10z and the 20z. The gangs operated in South Minneapolis, primarily between Franklin Avenue, and Lake Street, and I-35W and Minnehaha Avenue. Their primary purpose was to make money for the gang members through the sale of illegal drugs, including crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. As part of their drug trafficking operation, members of the gangs routinely engaged in gun violence with rival gangs. The purpose of this violence was to protect drug dealing territory controlled by the 10z and 20z, to protect individual drug distributors from rival gang violence, to attack and seize drug dealing territory controlled by rival gangs, and to attack and rob drug distributors associated with rival gangs.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, the 10z and 20z were involved in a gang war with their primary rival gangs, the Bloods and the Bogus Boys. The gang war was very violent and resulted in shootings of gang members on both sides, some of which caused the death of gang members. Virtually all of these shootings were the product of disputes over territory, robberies of rival drug dealers, or retaliatory violence.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, the defendants were involved in at least five shootings between August 19, 2014, and September 23, 2014. On August 19 2014, PERCY LACEY, JR., and other members of the 10z and 20z shot and wounded members of the Bloods near the corner of 37th Street East and Chicago Ave S. in the Powderhorn neighborhood of South Minneapolis. LACEY, JR., and his co-conspirators used a Masterpiece 9mm semi-automatic pistol to carry out the shooting. Two days later, CLARENCE DICKENS, JR., engaged in a drive-by shooting targeting a member of the Bloods outside of a McDonald’s at the corner of 2nd Avenue S and E. Lake Street.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, on August 26, 2014, ANDREW PETERSON and LACEY JR., along with other members of the 10z and 20z, staged a coordinated attack on members of the Bloods. Members of the Bloods were at the Hennepin County Medical Center visiting an injured member of their gang who had been shot earlier that day by members of the 10z during a drive-by shooting. PETERSON stood outside the hospital and attempting to draw Bloods members outside. Once outside of the hospital, LACEY, JR., fired multiple gun shots at the Bloods from across the street.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, on September 23, 2014, ANTHONY PIERRE DOSS was carrying the same Masterpiece 9mm used by LACEY, JR., during the August 19, 2014, shooting. While in possession of the Masterpiece, DOSS and other members of the 10z were shot at and wounded outside of a Moto Mart gas station at 3301 Hiawatha Avenue in South Minneapolis.
The indictment is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Minneapolis Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.
Defendant Information:
DANIEL ALFRED ADAMS, a/k/a “Funk,” 29
Minneapolis, Minn.
Charges:
ANDREW INDELICATO PETERSON, a/k/a “Boo Boo,” 25
St. Louis Park, Minn.
Charges:
PERCY MINIFER LACEY, JR., a/k/a “P3,” 22
Richfield, Minn.
Charges:
ANTHONY PIERRE DOSS, a/k/a “Two Tone,” a/k/a “Tony,” 24
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Charges:
THOMAS DUPREE BENNETT, a/k/a “Deandre Clay,” a/k/a “Trigga,” 27
Minneapolis, Minn.
Charges:
PAUL ANTONIO EARLY, a/k/a “Stamps,” a/k/a, “Man Man,” 23
Minneapolis, Minn.
Charges:
CLARENCE JAMES DICKENS, JR., a/k/a “Claro,” a/k/a, “Sneaky,” 24
Roseville, Minn.
Charges:
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.