Thirty-four individuals were apprehended five days into Operation Code Zero in the Raines law enforcement area. Five firearms and two stolen cars were recovered. Multiple levels of government were involved with Operation Code Zero. The operation started on June 14th.
Over 100,000 people call the 80 square mile Whitehaven area home, according to MPD’s website.
Whitehaven had become a crime hotspot, according to Police Chief C.J. Davis, with gangs of up to twenty individuals occupying the streets with heavy weaponry. In the previous three years, there have been 340 calls to the police in the neighborhood.
Davis recently discussed the operation, stating that the police focus on one area at a time, with Whitehaven being one such area that has come under constant attack for some time.
Crime categories vary throughout precincts, according to Chief Davis. There is gun violence in some precincts. Appling Farms is one of the precincts where vehicle thefts are most common.
More than two hundred automobiles were seized, along with narcotics, firearms, and two stolen vehicles, in the most recent operation that took place in the Raines area.
Among those apprehended was Trevor Randle, a 19-year-old. According to the task force police, they discovered him on private property, in possession of marijuana, loitering. He was released from prison last December after another incident, according to records.
Police said that a stolen Infiniti was involved in the pursuit in Whitehaven, leading to Randle’s arrest. The Infiniti collided with a parked vehicle while being pursued. A woman was killed instantly when the force of the car impacted her. A Memphis Police vehicle was also damaged.
Randle is now being detained in custody on a bail of $30,000.
The operation, according to locals who spoke with local media, has been in the works for quite some time.
According to a woman in the neighborhood, the sight of young people and firearms is unavoidable as they ride down the street. They congest the roadway. She said the presence of so many police officers was a relief.
She hoped that the police would keep up with the operation so that it could clean up their streets.
