Arrests made:
Jerry Moore, 59, selling crack cocaine Orlandis Stamper, 31, selling crack cocaine Quinton Adams, 26, selling crack cocaine Rawshard Smith, 35, selling marijuana Elizabeth Glenn, 36, possession of marijuana Antonio Chubbs, 58, gambling Charles Moore, 77, gambling David Patton, 32, gambling Jeffery Choice, gambling Jewone Colvin, 33, gambling Robert Montgomery, 23, gambling Winston Vinson, 60, gambling Source: Chattanooga Police Department
After police swooped in and arrested a man who was selling crack outside her business, all Tenesica Cross could do was shake her head and point to the sign she'd posted on her wall.
"NO LOITERING. NO DRUGS AND NO STANDING AROUND," was printed in bold red letters. "BY ORDER OF POLICE DEPT."
Cross, who owns Mercury Cabs at the corner of Rawlings Street and Dodson Avenue, said the sign hasn't made much difference.
"Without physically getting into an altercation, I can't make them move," she said. "It's the plight of the neighborhood. Just again and again and again and again."
A Chattanooga Police Department officer shows three marijuana cigarettes taken from a suspect on Dodson Avenue on Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Officers conducted an undercover operation designed to arrest street drug dealers Wednesday.But police captured one suspect Wednesday just outside Mercury Cab's front door - and arrested 11 other suspected dealers and gamblers at several locations in East Chattanooga Wednesday during an undercover drug buy operation. A total of $1,784 was seized as proceeds of drugs and gambling crimes, according to police communications coordinator Kyle Miller.
Police also cited one of Cross' contracted cab drivers for possession of marijuana during the bust.
"We try to do this a handful of times a year," said Lt. Tammy Cook. "It keeps the drug dealers on their toes. If we don't do this, they get more brazen."
And while Wednesday's arrests focused on low-level street dealers, selling drugs can often lead to other criminal activity like robberies, assaults and shootings, Miller said.
There were two shootings on Rawlings Street in March alone, both just a few doors down from Mercury Cab. Police said they targeted the East Chattanooga area because that is the part of town where they've received the most complaints and tips about people selling drugs.
Cross said she was glad police went undercover on her street.
"I welcome them," Cross said.
Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com.