A Chicago man and nine others were charged in a yearslong federal investigation into the trafficking of fentanyl-laced heroin and other drugs on the South Side.
Kevin Ware, 49, of Chicago, is accused of running the operation, including managing the potency and supply of the drugs his group was distributing and working with dealers to create deals for customers. The criminal complaint states the group worked with the Gangster Disciples, a Chicago street gang.
Also charged are Christopher Ware, 45, Brandan Allen, 31, Ricky Williams, 37, Darrel Brooks, 51, and Ernest Rowlette, 49, all of Chicago; and Leroy Presley, 49, of Riverdale.
Prosecutors said a property in West Pullman was used as a “stash house” for drugs and cash, while members of the organization would work shifts on shared phones to conduct drug deals.
Undercover officers or police confidants bought from Ware’s organization on at least 44 occasions, including from several of his co-defendants.
Ware also was charged in a second federal drug case with Chicago residents Michael Pearson, 49, and Jamie Pearson, 46, accused of operating a similar drug operation.
In one deal, Michael Pearson — from whom police confidants were buying — told Ware he didn’t have enough to sell to one confidant because another had bought up what he had. Ware then showed up and handed off more drugs to Michael Pearson, who sold to the second confidant 30 of the 39 bags of the substance Ware dropped off, according to court documents. A DEA lab test later confirmed the bags contained fentanyl and heroin.
In a July 2021 deal, both Pearsons sold nearly 50 grams of fentanyl-laced heroin to a police confidant, according to a criminal complaint.
Reginald Allen, 22, Chicago, was charged in a third complaint for distributing fentanyl-laced heroin on the South Side several times between 2021 and 2022. Allen is accused of having sold more than 100 grams of fentanyl-laced heroin to police informants between November 2021 and March 2022.
Most of the defendants were arrested Tuesday, the day several search warrants were executed, according to prosecutors.
