Alleged leader of Chicago's Black Disciples, known as 'Murder,' among several charged in federal gun, drug probe

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Trump calls in federal agents to fight crime in Chicago

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The alleged leader of a Chicago street gang whose nickname is "Murder" is among 23 suspects charged with federal gun and drug offenses after a years-long investigation, authorities said Wednesday.

Darnell "Murder" McMiller, 34, is described as the leader of the Black Disciples, one of the city's largest gangs. Several other alleged high-ranking members were also charged, including members of the gang's "Dog Pound" faction.

Clarence January, 27, allegedly leads the subset. He is charged with trafficking three handguns.

Kenneth Brown, 59, supplied the gang drugs to be distributed throughout the city and Charles Knight supplied drugs to McMiller's crew, the Justice Department said. Brown is charged with conspiring with Terrence Morris, 48, to distribute heroin in March 2019, according to a criminal complaint.

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Darnell "Murder" McMiller, 34, is the alleged leader of the Chicago's Black Disciples street gang. He was one of 23 suspects swept up in a years-long investigation into the sale of guns and drugs in the city's South Side.  (Justice Department )

McMiller allegedly conspired with Knight, 56, to distribute fentanyl-laced heroin to an informant in September 2019. Another man, John Ector, 47, is charged with bank fraud.

During the investigation into the sale of guns and drugs in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, authorities recovered 24 firearms and multiple amounts of cocaine, fentanyl-laced heroin, crack cocaine, ecstasy and nearly $52,600 in cash, authorities said.

“While there are many things that need to be done to help our city’s violent crime problem — including jobs creation, providing strong education resources and the like — one thing that every reasonable person can agree upon is that violent offenders need to be held accountable for their crimes,” U.S. Attorney John Lausch said at a news conference Wednesday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

McMiller has been targeted by federal authorities for years. In 2013, he was charged with three counts of distributing a controlled substance. He pled guilty to one count and was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Sun-Times.

Lausch declined to comment when asked if the 2019 murder of Lawrence “Big Law” Loggins, the previous leader of the Black Disciples, impacted the investigation.

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Wednesday's announcement comes as federal agents have deployed to Chicago to tackle an uptick in violent crime. Authorities said Operation Legend, which authorizes the deployment of federal forces to cities to assist local law enforcement in curbing violent crime, will lead to more arrests.

“The influx of federal resources under Operation Legend, announced last week, fits squarely within this same strategy … to rid our neighborhoods of gun-toters and drug traffickers in order to restore the rule of law and to help keep people safe,” Lausch said.