Feds indict 24 people in drug dealing, dogfighting ring

Twenty-four people have been indicted in a sprawling drug dealing conspiracy that involved stashing guns and substances in several abandoned homes on Detroit’s east side.

Officials say the scheme, which stretched across a roughly four-year period, involved raising dogs for dogfighting, storing cash in a Southfield condo that totaled more than $50,000 and juggling as many as 16 houses for storing and selling heroin, crack and cocaine.

And when authorities searched the Detroit home of a key member of the group, Damon Burnett, 36, they found 11 mostly loaded guns and a poster of a man who had been labeled a “rat,” according to court documents.

A family member of Burnett’s, reached by phone, declined to comment. Burnett’s attorney could not be reached Friday night.

“Large-scale, armed drug trafficking organizations that operate out of homes in residential areas create an unacceptable risk of violence to our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade in the Friday announcement.

The court documents don’t say what quantity of drugs the group was reportedly dealing, or how many people the group might have sold to. The members of the network tried to keep their activities secret by speaking in code through cell phones that they frequently changed.

But authorities still found evidence that suggested a conspiracy. At a house on Chelsea in March 2011, they found 200 grams of a substance with heroin and $7,900 in cash. Several months later, at a house on Wade, they found 50 more grams of a substance with heroin and two handguns.

As the investigation continued and the years went on, there were at least 15 searches like these, uncovering similar items. Most of the homes were in the Ravendale neighborhood, which is just east of Gratiot Avenue near Chandler Park golf course and I-94.

Eventually FBI agents captured Burnett speaking about drug dealing on a wiretap, according to the court files. They arrived at a home on Carlisle in May of this year. That’s where they found Burnett with his infant daughter, mother and bed-ridden sister.

They also found heroin, cocaine, an AR-15 assault rifle, a Bushmaster .223 rifle, five Glock handguns, drum-style magazines and other weapons, court records show.

They even found numerous posters that dubbed one man as a “certified RAT,” and asked anyone with details of the man’s whereabouts to call a phone number. The poster may have been spread around in public places, according to court documents.

During the search, Burnett admitted to knowing about the guns and the drugs, the court documents say.

Then at a separate condo in Southfield, agents found more than $50,000 in cash, as well as “masking agents” like cat litter and laundry detergent and bags that may have been used to repackage multiple kilograms of heroin.

In the announcement, McQuade also said that six of those 24 defendants engaged in an “extensive illegal dogfighting ring.”

Burnett now faces a minimum of 15 years in jail if he is convicted of the charges: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of firearms in furtherance of narcotics trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

He has at least two previous convictions: felony firearm in 2003, and illegally carrying a concealed weapon in 2011.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Violent Gang Task Force, along with Detroit Police, Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Homeland Security Investigations.

“We are extremely proud of the outstanding work done today,” said Paul Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office.

The charges

Damon Burnett, 36, of Detroit, is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of firearms in furtherance of narcotics trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Maurice Littles, 44, of Jackson, was charged with conspiracy to sponsor and exhibit an animal fighting venture as well as possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Five others were indicted on dogfighting charges as well as the drug conspiracy charge: Pierre Livingston, 43, of Detroit, Marcus Bradford, 44, of Southfield, Brian Williams, 35, of Detroit, Sherita Jones, 35, of Detroit, and Maurice Littles Jr., 24, of Detroit.

And these 17 people were charged only with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances: Eric Edmon, 42, of Roseville, Erik Carter, 39, of Detroit, Derek Carter, 39, of Detroit, Daron Calhoun, 35, of Detroit, Stevie Bridgeman, 36, of Detroit, Clyde Woodson, 47, of Detroit, Jackie Littles, 53, of Harper Woods, Michael Anderson, 40, of Romulus, Kim Robinson, 45, of Detroit, Darren Parchem, 28, of Detroit, Myron Duncan Plunkett, 23, Ivin Booth, 40, of Pontiac, Shajuana Barnes, 26, of Roseville, Latrina Hamilton, 35, of Detroit, Eugene Jackson, 29, of Monroe, Renee Jackson, 40, of Monroe, Edward Wilson, 26, of Detroit.

Contact Daniel Bethencourt: dbethencourt@freepress.com or 313-223-4531. Follow on Twitter at @_dbethencourt.