A total of 23 people, including one correctional officer, were arrested Wednesday following a lengthy, multi-agency gang investigation in the Stockton and Reno areas, according to the Stockton Police Department.
The gang in question, North Side Gangster Crips (NSGC), were identified through Operation Ceasefire, a unified effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to “bring justice to the small group of people in this community who fail to hear our message to put down their guns and to stop the violence,” the Stockton Police Department said.
During their investigation, police say they discovered that the NGSC street gang was involved in numerous shootings, robberies, illegal weapons violations, and narcotics sales activities.
Authorities also specifically said the gang was buying large quantities of heroin, marijuana, prescription pills and promethazine in Stockton, before driving to Nevada to sell the drugs for a higher profit. The gang members were also buying guns in Nevada and selling them in Stockton in a similar practice, as well as keeping some of the weapons to support their own activities, police say.
The investigation led the agencies to search 16 locations in Stockton and six locations in Reno. 12 arrests were made in Stockton, which included a San Joaquin County correctional officer, while 11 occurred in Reno.
“We want to emphasize that for those young people that step away from violence, the Ceasefire partnership -- through the Peacekeeper outreach program, the Office of Violence Prevention and our many service partners are there to support them,” Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said in a press release. “On behalf of the officers, detectives, deputy district attorneys and agents who worked this investigation, I want to thank you for assisting with the ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal street gangs who are committing acts of violence in and around the City of Stockton and the surrounding San Joaquin County Area. Let me finish by saying that while that the results of this investigation made Stockton a safer community, I’m committed to these types of operations and investigations in the future because getting gang members, violent criminals, weapons, and narcotics off our streets is an on-going process to make Stockton the best it can be.”