PROBATION OFFICER AND HER CRIPS BOYFRIEND HELD IN DRUG SWEEP

More Than a Dozen People Have Been Arrested in the San Gabriel and
Pomona Valleys on Federal Narcotics-Trafficking Charges. Authorities
Seize Four Kilograms of Cocaine, and One Kilogram of Crack.

By Richard Winton and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

A Los Angeles County probation officer and her boyfriend, a
high-ranking member of a Pomona Crips street gang, have been arrested
along with a dozen other gang associates on federal
narcotics-trafficking charges, authorities said Monday.

County Probation Officer Crystal Dillard was arrested last month
along with her boyfriend Jerron Johns, 27, following a yearlong
investigation, authorities said. Dillard is suspected of
participating in multiple crack cocaine transactions, including one
in which she was accompanied by a young child.

The narcotics probe stemmed in part from an investigation into
Dillard and Johns, a known member of the Pomona Crips gang called the
Westside Mafia, with several felony drug convictions going back to
2000, authorities said.

"It's almost one of those stories you hear in Hollywood about drug
trafficking and kingpins," said Pomona Police Chief Joe Romero, whose
department was part of the task force that made the arrests. Romero
described Dillard as a bad apple who "put a stain" on her department.

"The probation officer is one of the bad guys," Romero said.

"Anybody that would sell their badge, whether it's an FBI badge . . .
or a probation officer" is a disgrace to law enforcement, he said.

Dillard and Johns, of San Bernardino, are both in federal custody.
Two other defendants are in state facilities and 10 other associates
were arrested Monday morning in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys
during a multi-agency operation led by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Pomona police, the Drug Enforcement Administration
and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Dillard, according to federal officials, works in the probation
department's Compton office. An FBI official said Dillard used her
official vehicle to transport narcotics.

Several defendants remain at large, including Raymond "Ray Dog" King,
37, who authorities say is a gang leader and a main supplier of crack
cocaine in the Pomona area.

A 17-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury accuses 23
defendants of participating in a drug ring that trafficked in
cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. The indictment documents a
series of transactions involving kilogram quantities of cocaine.

Twice in April 2007, Dillard allegedly delivered crack cocaine, once
dropping it off under a car in a Vons market parking lot in Upland
and another time at a trash can at a Chevron station in Claremont,
according to court documents. The drugs were retrieved by Johns and
sold to an informant, the documents stated.

During an April 2007, drug drop at the Chevron, Dillard had a child
in her car, the court record states. In May 2007, Johns made another
drug deal in Dillard's car, officials say.

According to San Bernardino County court records in 2005, the county
won a default child-support judgment against Johns and named a
"Crystal Dillard" as the other parent. Johns, who is also known as
"Japs," was arrested Jan. 30 after various drug transactions, during
which he allegedly sold nearly a kilogram of crack cocaine to
informants who were working with investigators, according to court documents.

Both Johns and King face potential sentences of life without parole
because of prior drug-related convictions. King, the indictment
indicates, was the source of a large amount of drugs in the case and
operated several drug stash homes in the Pomona area.

Authorities identified the others arrested as Jeremiah Johnson, 29;
Matthew Moore, 27; Carl Ingram, 29; Karriem Bradford, 34; Nekea
Rojas, 28; Miracle Wilkerson, 30; Alicia Bass, 23; Willie Ward, 35;
Michael Woods, 37; and Eric Quintin Massengale, 46.

The two defendants already in state custody are Lakiea Jones, 27 and
Maleek Jenkins, 31. In addition to King, investigators are still
seeking several others named in the indictment: Arif Habib, 26; Larry
Kirk, 27; Jamie Bailey, 44; April Green, 32; Brandi Hall, 28; Joseph
Crawford, 39; and James Dixon, 39.

"This is the fourth successful operation targeting street gangs in as
many months," said U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien. "We will continue to
work with local authorities to go after the worst street gangs that
traffic in narcotics and terrorize neighborhoods with their violence."

Investigators during the operation seized approximately 4 kilograms
of cocaine, about 1 kilogram of crack cocaine and several firearms.

"The FBI is proud of its successful partnership with the Pomona
Police Department, the DEA and its other law enforcement partners,
which has resulted in the removal of violent gang members from the
streets of Pomona," said Salvador Hernandez, assistant director in
charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.