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John G. Raucci, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Mississippi, announced as follows:
On June 1, 2006, as a result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Safe Streets
Task Force in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the following two individuals were arrested
on federal drug trafficking charges: DEMETRIUS S. RANKIN, age 32 of Biloxi, Mississippi;
and LAQUISHA ANN BROOKS, age 25 of Gautier, Mississippi.
RANKIN was in possession of a .22 caliber revolver, an ounce of marijuana and
$1,200.00 U.S. currency, at the time of his arrest in Pascagoula. Agents later
executed a search warrant at RANKIN's residence in Biloxi, with assistance from
the Biloxi Police Department. Agents seized 8 kilos of cocaine, $20,490.00 in
U.S. currency, and a Ruger .40 caliber pistol. The seized cocaine has a street
value of approximately $272,000.00.
RANKIN and BROOKS are being charged with
Possession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine. If convicted, they face penalties
of up to life in a federal prison and $4,000,000.00 in fines.
RANKIN and BROOKS are scheduled to have an initial appearance before United States
Magistrate Judge John M. Roper, United States District Court for the Southern
District of Mississippi, Gulfport, Mississippi, on June 2, 2006.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force is a Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area (HIDTA) initiative and receives funding from the Office of National Drug
Control Policy in Washington, D.C. It is made up of Special Agents from the FBI
and law enforcement officers from the Pascagoula, Moss Point, Gautier, and Ocean
Springs Police Departments, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and the Mississippi
Bureau of Narcotics.
Raucci stressed that arrests are accusations only and there is a presumption
of innocence prior to any judicial proceeding.
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