Department of Justice reports federal charges against 28 people as part of ‘Operation Legend’ crackdown in Indianapolis

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INDIANAPOLIS — The Department of Justice announced charges against more than two dozen people in Indianapolis as part of Operation Legend.

The 45 day surge in federal resources began nearly three weeks ago in Circle City.

The goal is to help combat that dramatic spike in violence by taking guns, drugs and violent offenders off the streets.

In late July, two men sought help at a gas station on Rural after being shot. One of those men died. Federal prosecutors now believe that shooting stemmed from an armed robbery a few blocks away which was orchestrated using the online app OfferUp.

A pair of criminal complaints accuses four men of taking part in a series of online robberies, including two men allegedly involved in the fatal crime. Those two suspects are identified as Demetris Campbell and Angel Montano.

“Those individuals have been taken off the streets, so I think we’ve made a difference. I think we’ve made our community safer,” said United States attorney Josh Minkler.

In another case last week, a federal warrant led to the arrest of Lamont Dycus, a felon accused of possessing several illegal guns.

Another man, John Green, is accused of standing in his front yard near 10th and Tibbs and shooting an assault rifle in the air while kids were playing.

“The citizens called in. They’re the ones that said, ‘Come out here. It’s that guy. Get him out of here,’” said Minkler.

Minkler says in addition to 28 arrests, 61 guns have also been seized as part of Operation Legend.

“The first step to committing a shooting is picking up a gun. In most cases that first step is illegal,” said Minkler. “If you’re taking 61 guns off the street, that would ordinarily be on the street, you’re making the streets safer.”

“It’s a cluster of them that continue to terrorize our community. When we see our federal partners take them off the streets, it is making our community safer,” said Aaron Williams with the City of Peace Coalition.

Williams supports the federal crackdown, but adds that arrests alone won’t stop the violent crime.

“We are not cheerleading police to arrest a bunch of people. We want people to know there are resources to help you. You don’t have to turn to violence as a means to solve your dispute,” said Williams.

Minkler promised harsh punishments from cases prosecuted by Operation Legend, with no plea bargaining and no pretrial release.

The national crackdown on gun violence began on July 8 in Chicago and Albuquerque. It expanded to Indianapolis on Aug. 14.

The DOJ said, nationwide, the operation has resulted in more than 2,000 arrests, including 147 for homicide. In addition, authorities have seized 544 firearms, more than seven kilos of fentanyl, 14 kilos of heroin, 12 kilos of cocaine and 50 kilos of methamphetamine.

The initiative is named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept early in the morning of June 29 in Kansas City.

Here’s the breakdown by state:

Indianapolis, Indiana

28 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.