New charges in anti-violence effort target Minneapolis gang
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More alleged Minneapolis gang members are facing federal gun and drug charges as part of an ongoing crackdown.
A grand jury has indicted 10 men allegedly connected to the 10z and 20z gang, which primarily operates south of downtown Minneapolis around Franklin and Chicago Avenues.
The defendants range in age from 22 to 44 and face charges including having firearms as felons, possessing with intent to distribute narcotics and possessing firearms in relation to drug trafficking.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said police learned that the 10z and 20z were starting to return to the streets after a period of little activity.
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“When MPD investigators saw this beginning of the reemergence, we all jumped on it together,” Luger said at a news conference Tuesday.
At least one of the defendants has pleaded not guilty.
Since early 2023, federal prosecutors have charged 83 alleged gang members and have also targeted the Highs, Lows and Bloods.
So far nearly three dozen have been convicted. A Highs member who pleaded guilty in November is serving a 20-year sentence.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the effort appears to be having its intended effect, but there’s still work to do.
“Historically, north Minneapolis has borne the greatest brunt of the greatest concentration of gun violence,” O’Hara said. “The declines there are more significant than what you would see as trending in south Minneapolis. There are parts of south Minneapolis that are experiencing still higher levels of violence than what would have been normal in the past.”
