“Gangs are one, maybe two steps below ISIS,” Gmoser said. “They bring lawlessness, destruction and violence to neighborhoods … and we are going after these gangs with a vengeance.”
Prosecutors say the Hamilton gang has been operating in the southeast quadrant of the city along Sycamore Street.
Hamilton Police Chief Craig Bucheit said the indictments are a result of a “significant investigation” and that the department is using all resources at its disposal to rid the city of guns, gangs and drug violence.
Last summer, Hamilton became one of six cities in Ohio to participate in the Attorney General’s Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.
Approximately 40 people who were identified as responsible for the bulk of violent crime in Hamilton were called in to meet with local, state and federal law enforcement as well as clergy and medical professionals who told them they had one last chance to stop the violence.
During the call-in, which is part of probation or parole, the offenders were given an opportunity to take part in job training and alcohol and drug rehabilitation. Law enforcement, religious leaders and medical professionals outlined the consequences of continued acts of violence, including hearing from a gunshot victim. Then offenders were advised that any future acts of gun violence would result in swift legal action.
Bucheit said the city has seen significant reductions in gun violence since the July 2014 event. A second call-in is schedueld for later this week.
“We are all over it,” Bucheit said. “We are doing whatever it takes so these people get the message.”
Indicted by a Butler County grand jury Wednesday were:
- Embry D. Ross, 28, of Hamilton
- Eric K. Ross, 27, of Hamilton
- Toriano C. Ross Jr., 26, of Hamilton
- Nathaniel Riggins, 38, of Hamilton
- Brian A. Jones, 25, of Hamilton
- Jordan Jones, 20, of Hamilton
All are charged with one count of participating in a criminal gang, a second-degree felony.
Also indicted were:
- Corbin N. Jenrett, 23, of Cincinnati,
- Henry Lee Williams Jr., 24, of Hamilton
Jenerett and Williams are charged with trafficking in cocaine in addition to participating in a criminal gang.
In 2013, Toriano Ross and Eric Ross were shot in a gun fight on Chestnut Street, where several reports of shootings occured in late summer.
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