Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers say that nineteen people have been arrested as part of a long-lasting undercover investigation into crime occurring along the I-85 Sugar Creek corridor. The area, dubbed by some in the law enforcement world as Charlotte’s corridor of crime, is the latest target by police officers intent on busting suspected criminals.
Police officials say the current sweep focused in on 22 people and was designed to reduce violent crime in the surrounding areas. Police officers in Charlotte worked in conjunction with federal agents to nab the suspected criminals, beginning their undercover operation earlier in the summer. Authorities say they targeted individuals who were selling drugs or that were known to possess or sell weapons.
Police say rising numbers of criminal incidents in the corridor prompted the action, with reports of drug crimes, robberies and prostitution on the rise. Officers and federal agents worked with those in the community to help make the arrests. Officers were stationed in hotels, gas stations and fast food restaurant parking lots and spent months simply observing what went on around them. The watching was fruitful as police say they spotted numerous people obviously peddling drugs and guns and others engaged in prostitution.
Beyond the criminals who were swept up in the operation, police say they intend to file civil injunctions against some hotels in the corridor, which they believe, serve as the base of operation for some criminals. Officers say of the 19 people arrested, about half are facing state charges while the other half face more serious federal criminal charges. Police are still searching for three other suspects who were targeted in the undercover operation but who they believe may have escaped.