U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announces final update on Operation Legend

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced the final update on Operation Legend law enforcement activities in the city of Cleveland today. 

"In the city of Cleveland, Operation Legend has seen the arrest of 122 drug traffickers, firearms offenders, domestic violence convicts and other violent criminals this year,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. "Of this total, 61 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses, 57 have been charged with firearms-related offenses and four have been charged with other violent crimes. This has been a challenging year for law enforcement due to the obstacles presented by the coronavirus pandemic and the rise in violent crime rates across the country. However, thanks to the work of local federal investigators, prosecutors, Cleveland Police, local community leaders, and others involved in this commitment to reduce violent crime, more than 120 violent offenders have been removed from the streets of our city. I'm proud of what we have accomplished in just a few months and believe that we are in a great position to continue this work well into 2021 and beyond.  The resources provided to the city of Cleveland by Operation Legend are long-term and will not be going away anytime soon.  This city and our community are now a safer place to live thanks to Operation Legend."

Operation Legend was launched nationwide in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 8, 2020, and in the city of Cleveland on July 29, 2020. Since that time, over 6,000 arrests – including approximately 467 for homicide – have been made nationwide. More than 2600 firearms have been seized and more than 32 kilos of heroin, 17 kilos of fentanyl, 300 kilos of methamphetamine, 135 kilos of cocaine and $11 million in drug and other illicit proceeds have been seized.

Of the 6,000 individuals arrested, approximately 1,500 have been charged with federal offenses. Approximately 815 of those defendants have been charged with firearms offenses, while approximately 566 have been charged with drug-related crimes. The remaining defendants have been charged with various offenses.

Attorney General William Barr announced the operation as a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative, in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime. Operation Legend is named in honor of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept early in the morning of June 29 in Kansas City.