CLEVELAND, MS—The FBI has arrested 18 individuals on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges in the Mississippi Delta. The announcement was made at a press conference today in Cleveland by Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi Christopher Freeze, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi Chad Lamar, and Cleveland Police Chief Charles Bingham.

The arrests come following an extensive investigation into violent street gang activity following an increase in violent crime in the Mississippi Delta.

14 individuals were taken into custody today by law enforcement on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges:

• Eddie Mitchell, age 30, of Cleveland.
• Darren Scott, age 23, of Cleveland.
• Cordero Walker, age 31, of Cleveland.
• Derrick Williams, age 29, of Cleveland.
• Wendell Fitzgerald, age 29, of Cleveland.
• Frederick Belvin, age 29, of Cleveland.
• Stevie Hester, age 47, of Cleveland.
• Kibrya Cooper, age 33, of Cleveland.
• Demetrius Johnson, age 39, of Cleveland.
• Jayonto Daniels, age 44, of Cleveland.
• Jarrian Johnson, age 31, of Cleveland.
• Frederick Matthews, age 21, of Cleveland.
• Carl Quinn, age 23, of Cleveland.
• Ken Stallings, age 28, taken into custody in Kileen, Texas.

Two individuals were taken into custody by law enforcement on federal drug trafficking charges:

• Jafort Franklin, age 30, of Cleveland.
• Gideon Butler, age 43, of Cleveland.

Two individuals were taken into custody by law enforcement on firearms charges:

• Joe Crawford, age 65, of Boyle.
• Glen May, 28, of Cleveland.

The subjects are scheduled to make their initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Mississippi today, August 28, 2018.

The case was investigated by the FBI Jackson Division’s Oxford Resident Agency, under the umbrella of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. Agencies assisting with the investigation and arrests were the Cleveland Police Department, United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, United States Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

All charges are merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.