After a JSO operation that targeted gangs, violent crime, and drugs, 19 people accused of being in a gang in Jacksonville are now in jail.
Sheriff T.K. Waters says that the “insane gangster disciples” were a local gang that ran out of the westside.
The arrests are the result of a 6-month investigation called “Operation Crowd Down” by the JSO.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said, “Investigators planned this operation to catch as many gang members as possible.”
Sheriff T.K. Waters said that the “insane gangster disciples,” or IGD, were based near 103rd Street and California Avenue on the west side.
But he said that their local branch of the gang came from the Gangster Disciples, a national gang based in Chicago that was much bigger.
“Dangerous people have been taken off the streets because of these arrests and charges,” said State Attorney Melissa Nelson.
Now, they are facing felony charges, such as murder, manslaughter from a probe into a fentanyl overdose death, and carjacking.
Law officials found 18 guns and illegal drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
One of the 18 guns found during this operation was the murder weapon that JSO said was used to kill Devonte Jackson in 2022.
Sheriff T.K. Waters wants to say something to the other gangs in the area.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said, “To the gang members who continue to terrorize our community, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will continue to use all of its resources and those of agencies with which it works to stop your groups.”
