Federal Grand Jury Indicts 15 in Westside Drug Ring Probe

A federal grand jury this week indicted 15 high-ranking Westside gang members and associates for drug trafficking, the U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday.

The charges came after an extensive, two-year joint investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Los Angeles Police Department. If convicted of the most serious charge--trafficking in crack cocaine--four of the defendants could face life without parole in federal prison.

“We expect (these indictments) to have a big effect on crime in the area,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. John J. Byrne. “These are among the most active crack cocaine traffickers in Los Angeles.”

The defendants include reputed leaders of two prominent gangs, the Shoreline Crips, who operate in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice, and the Schoolyard Crips, who dominate the Mid-Wilshire area. All the defendants are in custody except one, who is being sought, Byrne said. He declined to release the suspect’s name.

Those indicted include Clifford Ray Featherstone, 37, and his brother, Christopher Anthony Featherstone, 35; Vincent Dewain Hamm, 28; Robert Cleotha Brown, 29; Michael Joel Davis, 26; William Earl Jones, 31; John Derrick Tyree, 34; Harrison Walcott Smith, 31; Henry Brown, Jr., 29; Dwayne White, 24, and Michelle Stacy, 26.