Prosecutors and investigators say they have broken up a drug-distribution ring that bought heroin and other drugs from a supplier in the Chicago area and resold it in northwest Indiana.
Nine people, including three Chicago-area residents, one of them a Richton Park man who prosecutors say was the primary source for the heroin, face charges in connection with the drug ring, which prosecutors say operated from at least 2009 until arrests were made last week.
Antwon “Yellow” Willis, 44, of Richton Park, also known as Bobby, and Tyquin “Psycho” Dinkins, 35 and Tracy “Shorty” West, 33, both of Chicago, sold drugs to people in Illinois and northern Indiana, according to an indictment unsealed after the defendants were arrested.
Willis was the main source of heroin for several drug dealers in Michigan City, Ind. and other parts of LaPorte and Porter counties in Indiana, according to the indictment and a news release issued today by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana and Michigan City police. Three of the lower-level dealers, Jordan Gutowski, 28, Brandon Heuer, 28, and Nathan Mougros, 28, all of Michigan City, had almost daily contact with Willis “during 2014,” according to the indictment, and arranged to meet him in Illinois to buy heroin.
Most of those facing charges were arrested late last week by agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Michigan City police, who worked with Chicago police, and the Porter County drug task force.
Of the nine people facing federal charges, three already had been arrested and charged in state court in Indiana. Authorities confiscated at least two vehicles, cash, at least one semiautomatic hadngun, heroin and drug paraphernalia in connection with the case. The indictment did not detail the cost or quantity of drugs thought sold by the ring or the amount of cash investigators believe involved in the conspiracy.
The defendants face various drug-conspiracy charges. They are scheduled for detention hearings before a U.S. magistrate judge in South Bend, Ind., this week, where they are being prosecuted.