After getting out of prison in April 2006, "Shakey" Shawn Betts moved to St. Charles, but kept his trigger finger on the West Side of Chicago, police said.
Betts, a leader of the "Body Snatchers" faction of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang, returned to Chicago to regain control of the corners where he and his gang wreaked havoc in the 1990s, leading to bloodshed in the streets in 2006, police said.
On Wednesday, police arrested Betts and 54 other members of his gang, including several top members, after an 18-month multiple-agency drug conspiracy investigation, the largest in recent history, police said. Police have also charged 20 other members of the gang with drug-related charges and have warrants for their arrest.
Frank Limon, chief of the Chicago Police Department's organized crime division, said the comprehensive investigation decimated one of the most violent gangs in the city in recent years. The gang is known for using violence and kidnapping to control territories. None of the members have been charged with violent crime, but police said they are investigating a number of homicides and shootings in recent years for possible connections. Betts, 41, was arrested in his home and charged with felony possession of cannabis, but more charges could come, police said.
Police carried out extensive video and telephone surveillance of the gang, conducting six different drug conspiracy investigations at the same time, said Cmdr. Nicholas Roti of the narcotics division. Investigators intercepted more than 22,000 telephone calls, made more than 100 street buys of narcotics and infiltrated a secretive and well-developed hierarchy in which Betts had insulated himself from any unfamiliar street contact, police said.
Betts, called the "prince" of the gang, fashioned himself the "president" of his territory, which he named "Capitol Hill" after Washington, D.C., police said. Police dubbed their investigation "Operation Capitol Hill."
Betts was released from prison after serving several years for a kidnapping conviction and violating his parole. After he was released, police kept watching him.
The gang worked out of three West Side districts, Harrison, Austin and Grand-Central, Roti said. The gang controlled 75 percent of the Austin district. After Betts' release in 2006, homicides went up dramatically, said Deputy Chief Al Wysinger, former district commander.
The gang conducted open-air drug deals, selling heroin and illegal cigarettes, in some instances, only a block from police stations, Wysinger said. The gang was highly organized, Roti said. For instance, Betts would not speak with anyone he wasn't familiar with and met only with his top members at various locations, such as a hardware store in the 5200 block of Madison Avenue, said Sgt. Darrell Spencer, who helped work the case. Limon said extensive drug conspiracy investigations will be the department's focus for years to come, an effort to dismantle not only the street players involved in gang activity, but the leaders as well, he said.
SOURCE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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