DRUG SWEEP: A night in the street life of East St. Louis East Side cops prowl the battlegrounds to rid the city of drugs, violence

Carolyn P. Smith

Jul. 23, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- EAST ST. LOUIS -- Police cruised the usual hot spots Saturday night, looking for drug deals going down, guns and violence, and people with drugs they intended to deliver.

It was a busy night.

From 6 o'clock Saturday evening to about 2 o'clock Sunday morning, East St. Louis police and agents from the FBI visited 19 different corners and neighborhoods known to them as places where illegal drug and gang activity regularly occur.

On corner after corner, street after street, and in the public housing projects, young men ranging in age from 18-26 were caught with large amounts of money and a variety of drugs that included ecstasy, marijuana and crack cocaine.

In some areas, young girls walk the streets in skimpy clothing, some in spike heels, some in tennis shoes, selling sex for money. The cops pay little attention to them because they say the courts let them right back out on the streets. Some of the prostitutes are very young.

In all, police arrested 15 people during the course of the night, including eight on drug charges.

"We've got marijuana, crack cocaine, three weapons, drug paraphernalia, and ecstasy," Detective Sgt. Ontourio Eiland said. "We seized approximately $3,500 or it might be a little more. We arrested seven wanted individuals ... and we recovered a stolen car."

In the 600 block of North 22nd Street, there was a boarded-up house with four young males standing nearby. When police asked why there were just standing there, they had no answer. When police searched them, they found crack and marijuana. One of the individuals told police he didn't know how the crack got into his pocket. He claimed to be innocent. He, like the other three, were whisked off to jail.

There's no such thing as 'easy success'

Police had arrested one of the four three times recently on weapons and drug charges. Each time he was right back on the same corner where officers had picked him up those previous times, Police Chief Michael Baxton said.

"Some of those rounded up in the sweep were repeat offenders," Baxton said. "It's frustrating for police to have to come in contact with the suspects over and over again."

Baxton said he wishes stiffer charges and more lengthy prison sentences could be meted out to deter the suspects and other would-be offenders from coming back onto the streets, endangering the lives of the innocent -- and themselves.

Some of the young men caught in the corner sweep are possibly "the bread winners in their family," Baxton said.

"The unemployment rate is very high for black males. Selling drugs is all they and their family members know to do to get money to pay the bills. They know the risks of getting killed out here or going to jail, but they take chances anyway," he said.

"Most of those on the corners dropped out of school because they don't have families that stress education, or they are not listening to their family members because they want the flashy stuff right now, Baxton said. "Some of them are raising themselves. They have to eat, and selling drugs is fast and easy, they think. To obtain success, there is no such thing as fast and easy. These guys need to learn that."

While police ride through a neighborhood, gunshots ring out and all of the police cars in the detail rush to assist another police officer in the nearby Roosevelt Homes. When they arrive, a suspect runs off on foot. Police recover a gun.

As police cars canvass the area, they see a number of small children outside and some of the officers comment about how the "small fries" should be inside and in the bed. It's 11 p.m. and later. The same was true in all of the housing complexes where police rode.

No snitching

At a house in the 1800 block of North 44th Street where a bunch of young men had gathered, police found a suspect who was wanted on an outstanding warrant for aggravated battery.

"He shot into an elderly woman's house last month," Detective Ricky Perry said.

The woman who lives there told police she didn't know any of the young men who were gathered in front of house. Police said that story most likely was not true.

Outside an apartment at the John DeShields Housing Complex, police spotted an unidentified male wearing a white T-shirt and baggy bluejean shorts. He started to move swiftly when he spotted police. There were several other young men hanging out on a back porch of the apartment. The suspect tried to enter the apartment, but police caught him before he could disappear.

Police fund a large sum of money and drugs in his pockets. The suspect dropped his head and kept his eyes focused on his money while police handcuffed him and led him to a waiting prisoner transport truck. He was 18 years old.

When police questioned the resident of the apartment about the guy with drugs and others hanging around on her porch, she pretended not to know any of the youngsters and tried to plead her case, but police were having none of it. They told her that since the young man was caught on her property with illegal drugs, they would be forwarding a report to the East St. Louis Housing Authority and she could be evicted.

Across the street from the Villa Griffin Homes, police found six young men on the basketball court, but there was no basketball. Police searched two cars that had been left there. Both had drugs in them. No one claimed the cars. They were towed. One wanted suspect was led away in handcuffs.

In the 600 block of North 78th Street, three cars were towed and three people were arrested for drug possession. When asked why he was being arrested, one young man said, " I only have a small bag of weed."

Baxton said, "But, it's illegal to have any drugs." The unnamed suspect dropped his head.

On and on the night went. In some instances, when police cleared the scene and people thought they were gone, others surfaced. Several of them were arrested as well.

"This is a good night for us," Capt. Bobby Cole said. "We have taken lots of drugs off the street. This will help make the community safer."

Baxton called the drug situation in East St. Louis "a sad affair."

"We have to take these guys off the streets because where you find drugs, you'll find violence. If we can clean these streets up and take those mostly young folks who're selling these drugs and shooting these guns, off the streets, we can make our city a lot safer," he said.

"It's a monumental task, but we're up to it," Baxton said. "But, we do need parents to do a better job of knowing where their children are, who they're with and what they're doing."

Contact reporter Carolyn P. Smith at 239-2503.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0023-26866347