Three Miami Gardens residents, Talvet Johnson, 45, Demetrius Brown, 25, and Eric McKenzie, 25, were indicted on charges of selling crack cocaine. Brown is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A fourth Miami Gardens resident, Reuben Oliver, 22, was indicted on charges of selling firearms to a convicted felon. As part of a joint federal-state operation, five other defendants who have been charged by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office with related narcotics offenses remain at large.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney for Miami-Dade County, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Antonio G. Brooklen, Interim Chief, Miami Gardens Police Department (MGPD), made the announcement.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Johnson, Brown, and McKenzie are each charged in separate indictments with selling crack cocaine on multiple occasions in or near a housing complex located in Miami Gardens. If convicted, Brown faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum term of life imprisonment. Johnson and McKenzie each face a maximum term of 20 years’ imprisonment. Oliver faces a maximum term of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of members of the United States Attorney’s Office Violence Reduction Partnership, which includes the FBI, ATF, and MGPD. The federal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olivia S. Choe and Vanessa Snyder. The state cases are being prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Sarah Lobel.

Through its Violence Reduction Partnership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks in various neighborhoods in the Southern District of Florida, while simultaneously working with community leaders and concerned citizens to mentor at-risk youth, provide job training, coordinate social services and support the reintegration of ex-offenders (returning citizens) to the community.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.