Jeanine Pirro reveals DC police officers manipulated crime stats to make city appear safer
Jeanine Pirro, serving as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has highlighted an investigation involving 13 police officers in Washington, D.C., who are suspected of altering crime data to present a falsely improved image of the city’s safety. Pirro underscored the critical need for truthful crime reporting, which is essential for the proper distribution of resources and the safeguarding of victims. She pointed out instances where serious crimes, such as assaults with dangerous weapons, were downgraded to less severe offenses.
In a separate case, 14 individuals have been indicted for participating in a cocaine trafficking ring that operated brazenly near a Washington, D.C., elementary school. According to federal prosecutors, this drug operation took place openly in front of children during daylight hours, effectively creating an open-air drug market.
The federal indictment accuses each of the 14 defendants of conspiring to distribute significant quantities of cocaine base and powder cocaine within a 1,000-foot radius of Hendley Elementary School, located in the Washington Highlands neighborhood—a region grappling with high crime rates.
The illicit drug sales frequently occurred as school-aged children walked to and from school, subjecting them to continuous exposure to illegal activities and potentially normalizing such dangerous behavior, federal prosecutors reported.
“This is poison being sold in broad daylight within mere feet of a schoolyard where children are supposed to learn, play, and develop,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated to the press. “Selling cocaine in proximity to schools is not just unlawful; it represents a direct threat to the most vulnerable members of our community. It puts our children at risk.”
An image captures a drug sale involving a woman in Washington, D.C., just feet away from a 5-year-old girl, who accompanied the woman to the sale, authorities said Wednesday. More than a dozen people connected to a drug trafficking operation in the city have been arrested and charged, the Justice Department said. (Justice Department)
“It destroys families, and it fuels the violence and the chaos in the district that we have suffered for far too long,” she added.
The suspects, who were arrested Wednesday as part of a two-year operation, were identified as Tevin Moody, 32; Geraldo Landy, 38; Norman Moore, 36; Lenon Wright, 34; Ali McShay, 31; Lonnell Thomas, 27; Marquette Paris, 34; Jeremiah Prince, 21; Joseph Moore, 43; Raekwon Womak, 21; Kivarrie Greene, 22; De’Lonte Jackson, 32; Derrick Manuel, 34; and 25-year-old Malik Heard.
In addition to the drug charges, Kivarrie Greene is also charged with unlawful possession of firearms.
Images released by the Justice Department show drug suspects on a Washington, D.C., street as children walk by. (Justice Department)
Throughout the investigation, authorities executed multiple search warrants at locations associated with the suspects and recovered 28 firearms, the Justice Department said. Agents also recovered 2.4 kilograms of crack cocaine, one kilogram of powder cocaine, 29 grams of fentanyl and 12 pounds of marijuana.
“They have access to illicit drugs. They have access to firearms,” said Christopher Goumenis, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent-in-Charge for the agency’s Washington Division. “They’re violent criminals, and most of them are recidivists in these communities.”
On Wednesday, authorities executed 19 search warrants and made 20 arrests across Washington, D.C., and Maryland of members of a violent street gang that operated on 4th Street, the FBI said. The crew engaged in the trafficking of guns and drugs like fentanyl and cocaine, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Wednesday announced charges against suspected drug dealers in Washington, D.C. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Along with other neighborhood-based street crews, they are the primary drivers of violence in the city, officials said, noting that they have committed a litany of crimes, including armed carjackings, shootings, robberies and murder.
In one image released by the Justice Department, a woman is shown accompanied by a 5-year-old girl while purchasing cocaine before taking the child by her hand and walking off, Pirro said.
“Now, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a crime,” Pirro said. “It’s one thing to have a prosecution of dirtbags who were selling drugs in the area of schools, 1,000 feet from a damn elementary school. It’s a whole other level of crime, as far as I’m concerned, for this woman to bring a child to a cocaine sale and then walk along with the child while she’s got the drugs on her.”
Weapons seized from suspected drug dealers in Washington, D.C., are seen displayed on a table. (Justice Department)
Pirro said she plans to ask the City Council to enact a law to address child endangerment, which she noted the city currently lacks.
Authorities observed at least 165 drug buys during the course of the operation, Pirro said. She added that she was optimistic authorities will make a difference in D.C. communities plagued by crime and drugs, given the scope of the arrests.
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