GANG MEMBERS INDICTED ON DRUG COUNTS

Ten members of a Southwest Washington street gang that authorities said has
terrorized a housing complex for a decade with more than 30 homicides,
shootings and armed kidnappings were indicted yesterday for their alleged
participation in a "violent marijuana distribution conspiracy," U.S.
Attorney Wilma A. Lewis said yesterday.

The defendants - all males ages 22 to 35 - were indicted on 87 counts of
racketeering and narcotics-related charges, including allegations that gang
members killed two people who were government witnesses against the group.
The federal indictment was unsealed yesterday.

The joint federal-local investigation focused on violence spawned by the
marijuana sales at the Greenleaf Gardens housing complex in Southwest. The
men charged yesterday were members of the K Street Crew, a neighborhood gang
that waged feuds with rival drug gangs, such as the L Street Crew, whose
federal racketeering trial is scheduled for January.

At a news conference yesterday, standing beside a chart that listed the
names of 31 victims of shootings - including 13 homicides - attributed to
the K Street Crew, Lewis said: "This is a clear example of why marijuana use
and dealing cannot - I repeat, cannot - simply be viewed as a harmless
activity or a victimless crime."

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst