'Jeez Luis' rolls up suspected drug ring
A seven-month drug probe based in Colorado Springs has resulted in 15 arrests to date, potentially crippling a local street gang that sold meth throughout the Front Range, authorities said today.
The investigation culminated Tuesday in a sweeping raid on purported members of La Familia, a local cell of the Sureños street gang.
While searching at least 10 locations tied to the group, a law enforcement task force including police, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI seized nearly 2 pounds of methamphetamine — valued at $326,000 — and smaller quantities of cocaine, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Five guns and cash totaling $8,475 were also seized.
Most of the drugs, cash and guns were found in Colorado Springs, but authorities said they also raided locations in Denver and Pueblo as part of the crackdown.
The action led to the arrest of the alleged gang leader, 22-year-old Jorge Perez, and more than a dozen suspected accomplices, authorities said. Fifteen suspects were identified at a news conference announcing the probe, most of whom were arrested Tuesday. Two other suspects remain at large.
Investigators dubbed their investigation “Operation Jeez Luis,” a play on the name of 24-year-old Luis Angel “Tricky” Vega, the drug suspect whose cell phone was tapped in a successful bid to identify other players in the network.
Vega is in the country illegally, authorities said. Three other suspects were wanted on probation or parole violations.
The Colorado Springs Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence unit coordinated the probe. The unit’s supervisor, Colorado Springs police Commander Rick Millwright, said the probe was significant more for the hampering of a local street gang than for the quantity of the drugs that were seized.
La Familia’s operation in Colorado Springs involved a total of 24 people, who trafficked meth that was smuggled from Mexico, Millwright said. The meth was sold in rock form, often in doses of 1 or 2 grams at a time, drug agents said. Millwright said of the drugs taken off the street: “It’s a dent.”
Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May blamed gangs like the Sureños for several violent episodes in Colorado Springs recently, including murders and drive-by shootings.
Although the drug suspects were taken into custody without incident, the authorities acknowledged that a raid on one home in Colorado Springs resulted in the hospitalization of a 69-year-old woman, whose son and grandson are among the drug suspects.
Rose Ann Santistevan, who was home alone in the 200 block of South Prospect Street, suffered a heart attack and was taken to Memorial Hospital Central’s intensive care unit after a SWAT task force threw a deafening flash-bang grenade and rushed inside.
“My dad would have gladly let them come inside and search if they asked,” said their son, Joseph Santistevan, who has not been implicated in the drug conspiracy.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene defended the officers’ precautions, saying they opted to enter the home forecefully because of information gathered during the investigation.
“You have to look at the individuals we’re dealing with and what their prior history is,” she said, referring to the gang members.
Rose Ann Santistevan remains in the intensive care unit at Memorial. She was upgraded from serious to good condition on Wednesday, a hospital official said.
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