Nine Defendants Charged for Roles in Drug Trafficking Organization Associated with Sex, Money, Murder Street Gang

NEWARK, N.J. - Nine people have been charged for their respective roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Union County and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.

Jerry Ross, 46, of Somerset, New Jersey; Joseph Ross, 42, of Rahway, New Jersey; Luis Delvalle, 41, Pernell White, 36, and Jaquay Bell, 35, all of Piscataway, New Jersey; Andre Gaddy, 31, of North Plainfield, New Jersey; Jacob Douglas, 42, Tarrell Strond, 42, and Tayeire Thomas, 26, all of Plainfield, New Jersey; are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Six of the defendants are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court. Douglas, White and Thomas remain at large.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The defendants are all members and associates of a drug trafficking organization that operated an open-air narcotics market in and around the area of West 3rd Street in Plainfield, New Jersey. The organization is affiliated with, and the defendants are members and associates of, the Sex, Money, Murder criminal street gang, which is a set of the Bloods street gang. For several months, law enforcement conducted extensive surveillance of the area, conducted numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, and analyzed telephone records, all of which demonstrated extensive interactions related to drug trafficking between and among the members or the conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; the Union County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William Daniel and Chief Harvey A. Barnwell; and officers of the Plainfield Police Department, under Director James Abney and Captain Brian Newman, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under the direction of Port Director TenaVel Thomas, Port of New York/Newark; officers of Perth Amboy Police Department under the direction of Chief Lawrence Catano, and prosecutors with the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice under the direction of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. He also thanked the New Jersey State Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Goldberg and Rachelle M. Navarro of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.