Four Arrested in Street Gang Crackdown

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

Los Angeles - Four alleged members and associates of the Watts-based Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang were arrested on Tuesday on federal narcotics charges, capping a two-year investigation.

The arrests were the result of a series of indictments returned last week by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Nine defendants are named in the seven indictments, which allege some distributed crack cocaine and one was a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

In addition to the four arrested on Tuesday, two defendants were already in custody, and three are fugitives.

Authorities who made today's arrests also seized eight firearms, 170 grams of crack and about one pound of marijuana, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Arrested were Anthony Scott Thompson, 42, of Norwalk; Franklin Darnell Hervey Jr., 46, of Watts; Anthony Foreman, 45, of Watts; and Lawrence Island, 49, of Los Angeles. All four are charged with distributing crack cocaine.

Federal officials "will continue to work side by side with our law enforcement partners to aggressively target the `worst of the worst' gang members who use firearms to perpetrate violent crimes and instill fear in the communities," said John A. Torres, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Los Angeles.

"This ATF investigation is a great example of what our Violent Crime Impact Team can achieve in reducing crime in our cities, stopping the illegal flow of firearms to these gang members, and keeping the communities safe," he said.

The Bounty Hunter Bloods claim territory in and around Nickerson Gardens, which is the largest public housing development in the western United States.

Previously in the investigation, more than a dozen alleged members or associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods were arrested on various state parole and probation violations and well over 2.2 pounds of crack cocaine was seized, officials said...