DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge James
DiCaprio confirmed a money laundering
investigation is continuing. Officers seized
$115,000 in cash; the inclusion of $5 and $10
bills in the seizure is a reflection of the retail
nature of this drug organization.
The Bradenton Police and the Sheriff 's
Offices in Manatee and Sarasota counties also
assisted in the operation. The Federal Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(the old AFT) was "called in at the last min-
ute," said AFT Special Agent Deland Reid,
assistant special agent in charge of the Tampa
office. "We focused on the arrest of violent,
repeat firearms violators," he said.
It took investigators 18 months to penetrate
the organization. "These are people who grew
up together," said Ledwith.
Hawks, who is 36, was on probation for fed-
eral firearms charges. Shannon is 44.
Gomez has already served one prison sen-
tence for trafficking in cocaine.
As the date of Gomez' alleged delivery drew
near, detectives signed the probable cause
affidavits in December and January in prepa-
ration for a series of arrests the week of Jan.
20. Street-level drug sales were primarily
in north Sarasota, including sites along Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Way, the 4900 block
of North Tamiami Trail, the 3500 block of
Old Bradenton Road, the 1100 block of 32nd
Street, 2412 Pershing Ave., the 1500 block of
23rd Street and other locations identified only
as "City of Sarasota."
Those arrested follow:
• Irwin Donte Brown, 26, of 1349 20th St.,
Sarasota.
• Roderick Shannon, 44, of 5000 N. Tamiami
Trail, Sarasota (the Rodeway Inn Motel).
• Almuta Muhammad Shabazz Hawks, 36, of
2030 29th St., Sarasota.
• Alex Hernando Gomez, 46, of 2352 NW 34th
St., Miami.
• Kewarren Lamar Jones, 43, of 3039 N.
Orange Ave., Sarasota.
• Reginald Eugene Brown, 36, of 821 Mecca
Drive, Sarasota.
• Shane Kendall Phillips Austin, 28, of 1506
23rd St., Sarasota.
• Reginald Maurice Williams, 38, of 4990
Baraldi Circle, Unit 101, Sarasota.
• Demond Williams, 40, of 1958 24th St.,
Sarasota (no prior criminal history).
• Guss Jackson Jr., 43, of 2412 Pershing Ave.,
Sarasota (no prior criminal history).
To view the Feb. 4 press conference, visit
youtu.be/8Mn4RN19cLw. %
E d i t o r s ' n o t e : S t a n
Z i m m e r m a n i s n o
stranger to drug traf-
ficking organizations
or money laundering,
having covered both in
his book A History of
Smuggling in Florida.
Sarasota News Leader February 7, 2014 Page 49
