Feds Bust Joliet's Gangster Disciples For Heroin, Cocaine Ring

JOLIET, IL — United States Attorney John Lausch announced on Tuesday that nine people, almost all of them residents of Joliet, are facing criminal charges as part of a joint federal and state investigation into heroin and cocaine sales in the Joliet area. Seven defendants are charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago in conspiracies to possess controlled substances with the intent to distribute. Two defendants are charged in Will County with state drug offenses.

The following people have been charged with federal drug conspiracies:

• William Nobles, 51, Joliet
• Jaron Nabors, 38, Joliet
• Ericka Pruitte, 38, Joliet
• Kalvin Stewart, 51, Aurora
• Gregory Warfield, 67, Joliet
• Caesar Estrada, 44, Joliet
• Luis Contreras, 40, Joliet

Charged in state court are:

• Tashaun McCarter, 40, Joliet
• David L. White, 52, Joliet

THE CASE

Part 1

According to federal prosecutors, Nobles is affiliated with the Joliet faction of the Black Gangster Disciples street gang and operates a drug trafficking organization in the Joliet area.

Nabors has conspired with Nobles to distribute the drugs, while Pruitte served as a courier on behalf of Nabors, the charges allege. The complaints describe several instances in which the trio allegedly conspired to distribute narcotics, including in February when Nobles allegedly supplied Pruitte with cocaine that had been distributed to Nobles by Estrada and Contreras, knowing that Pruitte would then deliver the drugs to Nabors. After the meeting, police pulled over Pruitte’s vehicle and discovered cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin inside the car, the charges allege.

Part 2

The feds say there was a separate cocaine seizure last December after Stewart allegedly supplied Warfield with the drugs during a meeting in Aurora, knowing that Warfield would then deliver the drugs to Nobles. After the meeting, law enforcement pulled over Warfield's pickup truck and discovered the cocaine in a shopping bag hidden in the passenger-side molding, according to the complaints. Officers also discovered a loaded gun in the truck, the complaints state.

EVIDENCE SEIZED

Federal prosecutors say the following items were seized into evidence by area police:

• 3 guns
• more than 3 kilograms of cocaine
• more than 60 grams of heroin
• $90,000 in illicit cash proceeds
• Several vehicles

WARRANTS EXECUTED

Court-ordered search warrants were carried out by police in the following locations:

• 800 block of Joliet's Vine Street
• 1400 block of Exposition Avenue in Aurora
• 2100 block of Englewood Avenue in Lockport

AGENCIES INVOLVED

• Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Will County State’s Attorney’s Office
• Joliet Police Department
• Bolingbrook Police Department
• Will County Sheriff's Office
• Cook County Sheriff's Office
• Orland Park Police Department
• Evergreen Park Police Department
• Aurora Police Department
• U.S. Bureau of Prisons Joint Intelligence Sharing Initiative.

PENALTIES

Authorities in Chicago say the federal conspiracy charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

Mugshot of Ericka Pruitte via Will County Sheriff