Fugitive Craig Petties (U.S. Marshals Top 15 List) Arrested in Mexico

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fugitive and former Memphis
resident Craig Petties (age 31) was arrested in Mexico on January 11, 2008.
Petties is currently under indictment for violations of 21 U.S.C. section 846
(conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana), 21 U.S.C. section 841(a)(1)
(possession of cocaine and marijuana with the intent to distribute) and 18
U.S.C. sections 1956 and 1957 (money laundering). Petties was added to the
U.S. Marshals Top 15 List of Most Wanted Fugitives in August 2004, and his
case was featured on the "America's Most Wanted" TV show. This announcement
was made today by David Kustoff, United States Attorney for the Western
District of Tennessee, Andrew Dimond, Resident Agent in Charge of the DEA's
Memphis Resident Office, and David G. Jolley, United States Marshal for the
Western District of Tennessee.

Petties was arrested with a female companion and three other individuals, and
several firearms were seized. The arrest was accomplished by the Mexican
Government which has been working in coordination with the DEA and the
Marshals Service. Petties is currently incarcerated in Mexico pending the
disposition of a request to return him to the United States for prosecution.

Petties was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western
District of Tennessee in 2002 (Case No. 02-20449). Since then, particularly in
2007, the case has been significantly expanded. The indictment in Case No.
02-20449 was superseded in November 2007. The following defendants were
charged (along with Petties) with conspiring to distribute cocaine in
violation of 21 U.S.C. section 846: Vacha Vaughn (aka V-Dog), Demetrious
Fields (aka Meat), Clarence Broady (aka Killer), Ricky Evans (aka Big Rick),
Marcus Brandon (aka White Boy), Clinton Lewis (aka Goldie), Fermando Johnson
and Carlos Whitelow (aka Lizard). The conspiracy count alleged, among other
things, that the conspirators negotiated with other cocaine traffickers in
Mexico, Texas, Mississippi and Memphis for the purchases of large quantities
of cocaine, that they managed and organized the delivery of various quantities
of cocaine from Texas into the Western District of Tennessee, and that they
attempted to kill other persons to facilitate continued drug trafficking and
to prevent others from cooperating with law enforcement authorities.

The superseding indictment included three counts charging Demetrious Fields
and Orlando Mays with conspiring to use a facility in interstate commerce (a
cellular telephone) with the intent that the murders of Vacha Vaughn, Greg
Jones (aka Grego) and Marcus Howell (aka Head) be committed as consideration
for the receipt of money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1958(a). Orlando
Mays was also charged with possessing a firearm after a prior felony
conviction in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 922(g).

All of the defendants indicted in Case No. 02-20449 have now been arrested.
This investigation has also led to seizures totaling approximately $2,962,046,
including $633,577 in cash and 40 vehicles. During an operation on November
23, 2007, (discussed below), the agents seized $209,150 in cash and 17
vehicles.

In addition, other indictments have been returned as part of this
investigation, and several arrests were made in November 2007. For instance,
Fermando Johnson, of Southaven, Mississippi, (charged with Petties and others
in Case No. 02-20449) was arrested on November 23, 2007. In connection with
that arrest, Kimberly Washington was arrested and charged with aggravated
assault after she fired shots at officers executing the arrest and search
warrants. Ricky Evans (also charged in Case No. 02-20449) was arrested in
Dallas, Texas, on November 23, 2007.

Also on November 23, there was an arrest arising from this investigation in
Mexico. Christopher Hamlet was arrested by Mexican Governmental authorities
near Mexico City. The arresting officers seized an AK-47-style assault rifle
and $729,894 in cash. Hamlet was indicted by a federal grand jury in the
Western District of Tennessee on July 23, 2002 (Case No. 02-20259) and charged
with narcotics and firearms violations. Hamlet is incarcerated in Mexico
pending disposition of a request for his return to the United States. A motion
in Case No. 02-20259 filed by the Government alleges that Petties was the head
of a significant narcotics distribution network responsible for distributing
thousands of kilograms of cocaine in the Western District of Tennessee and
that Hamlet was a member of the Petties drug organization.

Previously, in a related investigation, David Warner was arrested by the
Mexican authorities in July 2005 and returned to the Southern District of
Mississippi to face federal narcotics charges there. Warner had been included
in the U.S. Marshal's Top 15 List of Most Wanted Fugitives. On September 12,
2007, Warner was sentenced in Case 04-00022 (S.D. Miss.) to 270 months
imprisonment.

www.usdoj.gov/usao/tnw

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

Leigh Anne Jordon of Department of Justice, +1-901-544-4231, FAX:
+1-901-544-4230