Area law enforcement personnel are still on the lookout for 10 suspects who have yet to be taken into custody after last week's massive indictment of 54 Athens Park Bloods gang members.
The Hamilton County grand jury indictment marked the first time a street gang in the county has been prosecuted as a criminal enterprise under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.
Nearly half of the defendants were already incarcerated on previous charges, but more than 100 officers and agents from a number of law enforcement agencies began arresting the remaining suspects Wednesday morning. Authorities are still working to track down the last handful.
The charges stem from a coordinated effort that began months ago between Chattanooga police Chief David Roddy and District Attorney General Neal Pinkston to use the district attorney's cold case unit to review a string of unsolved homicides.
Those indicted face a wide variety of charges ranging from aggravated kidnapping to first-degree premeditated murder. Seven face charges in connection to five homicides.
Tennessee's RICO act was passed in 1986 in an effort to provide for extended criminal penalties for individuals operating as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Specifically, it allows leaders or associates to be tried for crimes they ordered others to do or helped them commit.