Residents indicted in drug conspiracy

14 facing drug, weapons charges

Fourteen Lorain residents were indicted in federal court Sept. 21 on drug and weapons charges in what investigators call a drug distribution conspiracy, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bridget M. Brennan, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that a federal grand jury in Cleveland returned an indictment for the conspiracy which included the sale of cocaine, cocaine base (“crack”) and fentanyl, in addition to unlawful possession of firearms.

The indictment alleges that Carlos “Los” Gonzalez, 38, led a drug trafficking organization, based in Lorain, that supplied members of his organization with kilogram quantities of cocaine and crack.

One kilogram equals 2.2 pounds, according to a Google search.

A coordinated investigation conducted by the Lorain Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the FBI, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security, Elyria Police Department, Lorain County Drug Task Force and United States Marshals Service, exposed and dismantled this organization, arrested its members and removed dangerous drugs and 17 guns from Lorain streets and surrounding communities, the release said.

Named in the indictment are Carlos Gonzalez, Angel “Snowy” Gonzalez, 37, Lloyd Young, 35, Edmond McCall, 32, Darnell Delaney, 38, Christopher Wilkes, 37, Ceasare Hollis, 50, Julius Harrington, 22, Niles Thompson, 35, Jorge Diaz, 27, Christopher Popik, 32, Shakara Whitfield, 33, Adam Young, 32, and Jacque Hill, 35.

All 14 defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and a detectable amount of crack.

Additional charges for some members of the conspiracy include felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, unlawful users of controlled substances in possession of firearms and use of a communications facility to facilitate a drug conspiracy, according to the indictment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Kolansky of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit is prosecuting the case.