You don’t see this every day huh?  Females being arrested for major drug crimes.  This case will be very interesting for a number of different reasons. 

First off, the attorneys for the adults will have to hook up with the attorneys for the juveniles.  The State will try to waive the juveniles up to adult court and this will be done before the adult cases go anywhere.  The attorneys are going to get a free crack at some of the detectives that testify at the waiver hearing.  It will help everyone if they all work together.  The best part is, assuming all juveniles can be waived, there will be 12 waiver hearings so each hearing should build on the last one.  Rarely do attorneys get such an opportunity to  create so much discovery so early.

Second, as an attorney for the big fish, you just have to know that some of the little fish will flip at some point, especially if they have bad attorneys.  However, the charges are so serious that a few small fish testifying against your client may not be the end of the world.

Third, the discovery in this case is going to be massive.  Making sure that you have everything is going to take quite a while.  The more cooks in the kitchen, the messier things can get. 

In other words, sounds like a fun case.  Some attorneys hate a lot of work, but this is what I live for. The plea offer will probably be pretty high so why not take the next two or three years and fight the case? 
 For Immediate Release
 Tuesday, July 28, 2009

 Drug Ring Directed by Female Gang Leaders Dismantled

  Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, Special Agent in Charge of the  Drug Enforcement Administration/New Jersey Division Gerard McAleer, Statewide Director of Gangs, Guns and  Violent Crime Control Strategies Jose Cordero, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura, East Orange Police Chief  Ron Borgo, and Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy today announced the arrest of 43 gang members and their  associates, in connection with the dismantling of a female-led gang that was trafficking narcotics in Newark, East Orange, Orange, and Montclair.

  The investigation was part of the statewide anti-gang initiative coordinated by the Attorney General’s Office in  connection with the Governor’s Strategy for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods.

  Initiated in January 2009, the joint investigation dubbed “Operation Bloodette” traced an elaborate PCP, cocaine,  crack cocaine, and marijuana distribution ring that sold significant quantities of drugs to gang members and their  associates of the 464 PIRU and Sex Money Murder sets of the Bloods. Undercover detectives from the Essex  County Prosecutor’s Gang and Narcotics VIPER Unit, East Orange, Newark, Montclair and Orange police  departments, along with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recovered narcotics including: 62 ounces of PCP, 13.3 grams of heroin (266 decks), 54 grams of cocaine, and 36 grams of  marijuana, with a total estimated street value of $133,000. In addition, four fully-loaded handguns, 138 rounds of  ammunition, and more than $21,000 in cash were seized. It is alleged that the operation was distributing more than  $50,000 worth of narcotics per week or more than $2.6 million per year. 

  The alleged ring leaders, Iyesha Harrison, 25, of East Orange, and Tyesha Stephens, 30, of Newark, were  orchestrating the operation primarily from two locations: the South Orange Ave. vicinity bordering East Orange  and Newark, and Stephens’ apartment on Elizabeth Ave. in Newark. On July 13, defendant Harrison was arrested  and charged with leader of a narcotics trafficking network (first degree), distribution of CDS (third degree),  distribution of CDS within 1,000 ft of a school (third degree), conspiracy to distribute CDS (second degree), and  employing a juvenile to distribute CDS (second degree). On June 15, defendant Stephens was arrested and charged  with possession of CDS (third degree), possession of CDS with intent to distribute (first degree), possession of  CDS with intent to distribute within 1,000 ft of a school (third degree), possession of CDS with intent to  distribute within 500 ft. of public housing (second degree), and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child  (second degree). Both women are being held in the Essex County Jail. Bail for both was set at $300,000.

  Of the 43 defendants arrested, 12 are juveniles and 31 are alleged to be gang members and/or associates.

  “With these arrests, we have dismantled a drug ring led by two female members of the Bloods that was dealing more than $50,000 a week in PCP, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana,” said Attorney General Anne Milgram. “While  the threat posed to our communities by these criminal enterprises is the same whether they are led by men or women, it is disturbing that gangs have evolved to exert the same destructive control over the lives of young women that  they have over young men, enlisting them in deadly violence.”

  These criminal charges are mere accusations. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven  guilty in a court of law.