2 SECURITY GUARDS AMONG 44 INDICTED IN WAUKEGAN DRUG STING

Two security guards at a downtown Waukegan apartment complex were
among scores of people charged in a two-month drug sting by police,
officials announced Friday.

Police have arrested 20 of the 44 suspects, and the others should be
in custody by next week, said Waukegan Police Chief Scott Burleson.

All but one of those indicted were repeat offenders, said Lake County
State's Atty. Michael Waller, who announced the sting at Waukegan City
Hall with Burleson; Sgt. John Oliver, head of the police narcotics
unit; and city leaders.

Concentrating on the city's downtown and south and west sides, police
acted on tips to set up drug buys with suspected dealers from Nov. 24
to Jan. 22. About 95 percent of the indictments were due to citizens'
complaints about drug activity in their neighborhoods, Oliver said.

"The goal here is to get people from the community involved to talk
with us and, when they talk, to show them results," Burleson said.

The defendants are charged with unlawful possession of a controlled
substance and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. The
majority of the cases involved possession or distribution of crack
cocaine, which Burleson said "continues to be the major problem in our
communities."

Fifteen of the defendants are charged with class felonies punishable
by up to 15 years in prison. In the 33 other cases, the defendants
could receive up to 7 years in prison. Four people were charged with
multiple counts.

The two former guards, Eddie A. Little, 25, of the 800 block of
McAlister Avenue, and Marc W. Dedrick, 29, of the 1700 block of Sunset
Avenue, were employed by a security company hired to patrol the
apartment building at 200 Julian St., Burleson said. They were still
being sought. Dedrick is on parole for unlawful delivery of cocaine,
police said.

This is the sixth such operation Waukegan police have conducted in the
last three years, Waller said. Almost 200 people have been arrested
since 1996, and 97 percent were convicted.