FBI: Jessica Chambers case led to arrest of 17 suspected gang members

Seventeen people have been charged in north Mississippi as part of a major operation targeting suspected gang members called "Operation Bite Back," officials said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Don Alway announced the offensive early Tuesday morning.

Officials said the operation focuses on Panola County and is a by-product of the deep investigation that has come through the probe into the death of Jessica Chambers, a 19-year-old woman burned alive Dec. 6, 2014, in Courtland.

Just after 8 p.m., Chambers was doused with gasoline and set on fire in her car. She got out of the car and was found on the road with burns over most of her body. She died hours later at a Memphis hospital.

Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby said Tuesday's arrests are not directly related to Chambers' death but to information gathered as authorities have interviewed more than 150 people and sorted through more than 20,000 phone records trying to find her killer.

FBI spokesman Jason Pack said as the FBI assisted state and local investigators, suspected illegal activity came to light and resulted in the indictments and arrests Tuesday. The indictments in both the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi and Mississippi's 17th Circuit Court District charge the 17 people on a variety of violations such as child endangerment, possession of stolen firearms, narcotics sales, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of counterfeit currency.

District Attorney John Champion said the roundup started about 4 a.m. in Oxford. FBI agents targeted suspected members of the Black Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, and Sipp Mob street gangs after gathering intelligence from local law enforcement and from residents weary of violence in their neighborhoods.

SWAT teams from the state Highway Patrol and Bureau of Narcotics joined three FBI SWAT teams to make the arrests, Pack said. He said some of those arrested were picked up by local authorities on federal writs, six had been indicted on state charges stemming from the operation and the remaining nine were picked up Tuesday morning. Some have since bonded out.

Alway said the suspects have been indicted on a variety of state and federal charges, and officials expect this is just the tip of the iceberg.

"It's taken eight or nine months, if not a little longer, to get to this point," Champion said. "And this is not over by any stretch of the imagination.

"The community needs to know that when we ID those doing drugs and other crimes in the community, we're going after them."

Darby has alluded to the Chambers slaying leading to other major case breaks.

"This is some part of it -- it's the state, feds and us working on this stuff," the sheriff said. "We've told them and told them that this was coming. We're not playing with them anymore."

"Many cities across the country have success pooling resources with federal and state agencies to fight and control gangs and gang-related violence," Alway said.

A team of investigators from the Panola County Sheriff's Department, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. attorney's office are still digging into Chambers' death. A marked lack of street chatter has made the case a tough one to crack, authorities have said, causing much of the investigation to hinge on data collection.

Those charged are:

-- Lyndon Mosely Jr., 24, distribution of crack cocaine

-- Edward House, 39, distribution of powder cocaine and distribution of crack cocaine

-- Joshua Cannon, 25, cocaine possession

-- Anand Vijay Shegog, 39, sale of a controlled substance

-- Mondarious Armstead, 23, public drunk; receiving stolen property; possession, sale, transfer of stole firearm

-- Gregory B. Andrews, 22, distribution of powder cocaine (x2)

-- D'lirian Case, 18, attempt to pass counterfeit and passing counterfeit

-- Janicholas Vankeith Scott, 34, sale of cocaine

-- James Mosely Jr., 26, robbery, sale of cocaine, presenting false cocaine in state

-- George Todd, 23, attempt to pass counterfeit

-- Dedrick Ivery, 39, possession of controlled substance; child abuse; firearm enhancement; felon in possession of firearm in proximity to school/church

-- Antonio Johnson, 28, possession controlled substance with intent

-- Xavier Hooks, 25, possession gun by felon; possession of a stolen gun

-- Kevin Windfield, 37, sale of controlled substance

-- Elgin Lamar, 38, possession of controlled substance (x2); possession of controlled substance with intent, child endangerment (x2)

-- Deon Smith, 20, passing counterfeit

-- Stanley Coleman, 40, sale of cocaine (x4)

According to MDOC records, Gregory Andrews and Janicholas Scott were both on parole for previous drug charges. The Clarion-Ledger has reached out to MDOC to see whether any of the others have records with the state.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "FBI: Jessica Chambers case led to arrest of 17 suspected gang members ."