3 S.F. MEN SENTENCED FOR CRACK TRADE

Three San Francisco men have been sentenced to long federal prison terms
for their roles in a crack cocaine ring that terrorized residents of three
San Francisco neighborhoods.

Gregory ``Smurf'' Jones and Clifton ``Donnie'' Robinson, two of the group's
members, received 10- year sentences for their roles in the gang. Kaheen
Alhark, a third member, will serve a five-year sentence for his
involvement.

All three were indicted in March 1996 as members of a Bay Area-wide drug
ring that obtained large amounts of cocaine from suppliers and ``cooked''
it into easily sellable crack. The crack was then repackaged and sold in a
number of San Francisco housing projects.

According to federal court papers, Jones helped organize the sales and
distribution of some of the drug, Robinson peddled the crack to residents
in Hunters Point, and Alhark ordered kilo-sized amounts of the drug for
redistribution.

Most of the members of the organization have pleaded guilty to drug
charges. Some have already received prison terms while others are still
awaiting sentencing.

Last month, Carlos Guzman, who delivered at least a kilo of cocaine for the
ring, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, and Edward A. Wilson, who
participated in selling the drug, received a five-year sentence.

According to investigators, much of the cocaine case was based on
court-ordered telephone wiretaps that yielded extensive recordings of the
gang's members haggling over prices, ordering drugs and setting up deals.

Police said the organization was a major drug source in the Bayview-Hunters
Point District and the Sunnydale Housing Project. Its members used housing
project facilities as a sort of headquarters for their operations.

Investigators also say members of the group engaged in violent struggles
with other drug rings for control of the crack trade in the projects.

One member who has already pleaded guilty to drug charges, Owen C. Bowdry,
was an alleged ringleader of an interstate auto theft ring that was broken
up by local police, California Highway Patrol officers and prosecutors from
the state Department of Justice two years ago.

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle