Escondido Mayor Sam Abed announced Monday that he will run for San Diego County Supervisor.

Abed made the decision to run at the same time current District 3 Supervisor Dave Roberts faces several legal claims alleging misappropriation of funds and mistreatment of employees.

The Republican candidate was flanked by family and supporters outside City Hall.

While Abed touted his strong track record of fiscal responsibility and being business friendly he was also quick to point out the scandal surrounding Roberts.

"The trust with the county residents, the broken relationship with the County Board of Supervisors and staff will never be restored under supervisor Dave Roberts. I provide that trust, I will restore that trust and I will work hard," Abed said.

Roberts' former staff member Diane Porter filed a claim with the county last month alleging that the supervisor used county money to pay for campaign materials.

As NBC 7 Investigates has reported, Roberts has also been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member and retaliating against employees who spoke out about the situation.

In an interview with NBC 7, Roberts denied the allegations and said he will run to retain his seat.

Roberts' spokesperson Gary Gartner criticized Abed saying he is ignoring his obligation to the city of Escondido.

"He's broken promises to the voters of his city that he would serve two terms. so it appears that Mayor Abed is running because he thinks its expedient to run," Gartner said.
 

Three men chased a 14-year-old boy into a Chelsea wine store, hit him with bottles of alcohol and threw merchandise at him, causing several hundred dollars worth of damage to the shop, law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell NBC 4 New York.

The teenager was walking by the Robert R. Fulton houses on West 16th Street May 29 when the three men approached him, the sources said.

They asked him, "What house?", and the boy answered, "Chelsea," the sources said.

The three men then started beating up the teen and the boy ran into the wine store to try to escape, the sources said.

A 20-year-old man was charged with second-degree gang assault in the attack, and sources say the other two suspects remain on the loose.

The extent of the boy's injuries weren't clear, but they weren't believed to be severe. 

A fence will be built to divide a park in downtown San Diego so children and dogs can each have their own space.

The heated, decade-long controversy involves the grassy area at Date and State streets in Little Italy.

Students at Washington Elementary play at Amici Park. At the same time, dog owners have been using it as an unleashed dog park.

About a dozen parents attended a hearing Monday morning to push San Diego Unified School District into taking action.

District representatives joined the discussion and told parents that their wishes had been granted.

A temporary fence would be installed by Wednesday. Dog owners will have to enter the park on Date Street.

“There’s going to be a much smaller portion that the dogs are going to be using but I think it is a win-win definitely,” said PTO President Nicole Paquette.

The Little Italy Association also said it would take care of the grass and facilities on both the dog park and school sides of the fence.

“It’s going to be bigger than a lot of the dog parks in New York City, I can tell you that,” said Marco Li Mandri, Chief Executive Administrator, Little Italy Association.

A California man apparently fed up with a drone filming on his Orange County street swatted it out of the air, a man-vs.-tech attack seen in a viral video.

The company's owner has filed a report with the Huntington Beach Police Department and said that if the man doesn't pay for the drone, he'll sue in small claims court.

The drone was only two or three feet off the ground when a shirtless man walked up, saying the drone had better not fly over his house, according to the video, which was posted June 3. He smacks the drone with his shirt, knocking it to the ground and causing apparent damage to the propellers.

The people flying the $1,300 drone said they were shooting an instructional video on drone flight for a startup called Lucky 7 Drones.

"All I want is for the guy to bring me over a check that won't bounce or cash so that we can go replace this for our employee and move on with it," said Mike Luzansky, of Lucky 7 Drones.

The man seen in the video declined a request to speak with NBC4. He has not been charged with any crime, police said.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. John Domingo told The Orange County Register that the man, who did not identify himself to reporters, told police he feared the drone would be used to spy on his home.

The case has been forwarded to the Orange County District Attorney for review, Domingo said.

In California, hobby use of drones is legal, as long as they're not used to look inside people's homes or fly in restricted airspace.

As a backup dancer for Gloria Gaynor and Donna Sumer, Ava Kaufman toured the world. She was the picture of health until 2009 when an autoimmune disease damaged her heart.

One day she collapsed and woke up in a hospital bed at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Her doctors gave her startling news.

"They woke me up and told me I had a heart transplant," Kaufman said.

Kaufman found that she could no longer walk or talk. She thought about giving up. But one thing kept her going: her 11-year-old daughter, Jade.

Ava made a deal with God.

"I said, ‘If you let me be Jade's mom and go back to who I was before, I would spend the rest of my life giving back,’" Kaufman said.

Within months, she was back on her feet. She decided to start a non-profit organization called Ava's Heart. The foundation helps transplant patients pay for housing and other living expenses while they're getting treatment.

Kaufman's cardiologist, Dr. Juan Alejos, says transplant patients desperately need the assistance.

"Usually in the first three months we require that patients stay locally. That's an expense in California, renting an apartment if you don't have family. Ava has made it possible for our patients who don't have that support," Alejos said.

Kaufman's foundation is helping pay for housing for Marty Vece. The 45 year old is on the transplant list for a new heart. He had to quit his teaching job in Las Vegas and move his family to Southern California so he can be near UCLA Medical Center when a heart comes through.

"Emotionally, it's an incredible weight off our shoulders," Vece said.

Kaufman makes a personal connection with every patient she helps. She's become a mentor to 11-year-old Jessica Ostrand. The Temecula girl has had two heart transplants.

"People just don't know what I've been through and I just kind of want to talk to someone. She's been the one I've been talking to a lot," Jessica said.

Kaufman says making a difference in the lives of others like Jessica and Vece makes all the hard work of running a foundation worthwhile.

"As hard as it is sometimes, I just know this is what I'm supposed to do with the rest of my life, so I'm going to do it," Kaufman said.

Jessica and Vece are grateful for the help they've received. They plan to volunteer with Ava's Heart to help others.

If you'd like to help or donate, visit Kaufman's website at www.avasheart.org.

A teenager has been arrested, accused in the stabbing death of a man outside a Vista restaurant.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department just identified the victim in the deadly fight that occurred Friday on Hacienda Drive.

Deputies say 22-year-old Felis Raya was stabbed outside the Colima’s Mexican Food restaurant. He was taken to a nearby hospital but was later pronounced dead.

Two days later, homicide detectives arrested a 17-year-old male on Lewis Street in Oceanside and charged him with murder.

He’s been booked in Juvenile Hall.

It is NBC 7 San Diego’s policy not to identify juveniles charged with a crime.

Anyone with information about this incident can call the Homicide Detail at (858) 974-2321/after hours at (858) 565-5200.
 

Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has hired a lawyer from the Chicago-based firm Sidley Austin to represent him ahead of his arraignment on federal charges Tuesday.  

Thomas Green, a white-collar defense lawyer at Sidley Austin, will serve as Hastert's lawyer, Carter Phillips, a partner at the firm's Washington, D.C., office, confirmed Monday. 

Green, who is also based in the law firm's D.C., office, has represented several high-profile members of Congress and other public officials, including clients involved in Iran-Contra, Watergate and the Clinton pardon scandal. He also previously managed the firm's white collar defense practice group and has been widely recognized as a top white collar defense lawyer. 

Hastert was indicted on May 28 for making regular withdrawals from his bank accounts below a limit that would require reporting and then lying to federal officials when asked about those withdrawals. 

A federal law enforcement officials told NBC News that Hastert withdrew the money to cover up a sexual relationship he had with a man who was a student at Yorkville High School in Illinois at the time. Hastert was a teacher and wrestling coach at the high school from 1965 to 1981. 

The Department of Justice and IRS allege Hastert, 73, withdrew $1.7 million from various banks between 2010 to 2014 and provided the funds to an unnamed person "to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct." He is accused of promising a total of $3.5 million to that person.  

Hastert left Congress in 2008 and then worked as a lobbyist at Dickstein Shapiro. After news broke of his indictment, he resigned from his lobbying position, according to a spokesperson from the firm. 

If convicted of the charges against him, Hastert faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Dozens of U.S. hospitals are hiking up healthcare costs more than 1,000 percent – over 10 times the costs allowed by Medicare – and for the same medical services, new findings indicate.

New research out of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Washington & Lee University revealed that the 50 U.S. hospitals with the highest price markups are inflating health care costs far above actual prices by charging uninsured and out-of-network patients over 10 times the amount permitted by Medicare. The report was published in the June issue of Health Affairs.

“We as consumers are paying for this when hospitals charge 10 times what they should,” Gerard F. Anderson, professor at the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins and coauthor of the study said, according to a press release. “What other industry can you think of that marks up the price of their product by 1,000 percent and remains in business?” he said.

Forty-nine of the 50 hospitals with the highest price markups are for-profit. Twenty of the hospitals in the report are located in Florida.

The report indicated that on the whole, hospitals with high markups are not exclusively located in high-cost cities. The priciest hospital, the study says, is North Okaloosa Medical Center, about an hour outside of Pensacola, Florida, where patients are charged 12.6 times more than costs allowed by Medicare.

In the report, Anderson and Ge Bai of Washington & Lee University, revealed that poor oversight of hospital charges as well as a lack of market competition are causing the severe price gouging. Consumers both with and without insurance are bearing the exorbitant costs.

“There is no justification for these outrageous rates but no one tells hospitals they can’t charge them,” said Anderson. “For the most part, there is no regulation of hospital rates and there are no market forces that force hospitals to lower their rates. They charge these prices simply because they can,” he said.

Anderson said price transparency could help to an extent, but currently most hospitals are not required to publicly share costs for procedures.

“This system has the effect of charging the highest prices to the most vulnerable patients and those with the least market power,” Anderson says. “The result is a market failure.” 

A Santee woman said someone tried to pose as her grandson tos cam her out of almost $1,000 so she decided posted the story online to warn others. 

Patricia Welch got a call from someone claiming to be her eldest grandson who told her he sounded funny because he was wearing a medical collar.

The man on the phone then claimed to have caused a car crash that landed him in jail.

“He said, ‘I can’t stay here. I need $864,’” Welch recalled.

When she replied that she didn’t have any money, she said the phone call was disconnected, conversation over.

But it wasn't until Welch called her son that she learned the hard and hurtful truth.

“He says, ‘You got scammed,’” she said.

“I think they’re really pretty lowlifes,” she said about the man on the other end of the phone. “I can't say what I'd like to say but that's exactly how I feel.”

Welch isn’t alone, according to officials with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

Half of the reports into adult protective services involve some kind of financial elder abuse online, in the mail or over the phone.

The scams are usually one of three situations: the caller says you owe money, someone you love needs the money or you’ve won money.

If you get a similar phone call, the answer is simple.

“Don't give it to them,” Welch said.

She posted the story onto a Facebook group for East County residents to warn others and was surprised at how many responses she received.

The DA’s Office suggests residents should be skeptical. Refuse to give out personal information. Call a police report if they feel they’ve been duped. They can also call
adult protective services (800) 510-2020.
 

San Diego Police and firefighters were called to a Mission Bay hotel parking lot to investigate a suspicious device Monday.

Officers arrived to the Hilton Mission Bay located on East Mission Bay Drive just after 10 a.m.

A witness called 911 to report seeing a man put the object under an employee's car in the parking lot.

Officials taped off the area to traffic and called in the bomb squad.

The bomb squad used a robot to determine there was nothing dangerous inside.

Authorities gave the all-clear a couple of hours later, and the area was reopened.
 

The family of a San Diego Marine killed in action accepted the Navy Cross in a ceremony on Camp Pendleton Monday, ending years of controversy over how the military would honor the fallen Marine.

The military’s second highest honor was bestowed to Sgt. Rafael Peralta 11 years after he fell on a grenade in combat.

Many argued Peralta should have received the Medal of Honor. However Defense Secretary Jeh Johnson cited forensic evidence that suggested the Marine wasn't conscious when he smothered the grenade with his body. Johnson said he also questioned eyewitness accounts.

Former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta also denied the request. 

In an interview with NBC 7 last week, Peralta’s mother said she is humbled by the award, but believes her son is a hero even without one.

The family has said they’ll give the award to the Navy ship being dedicated in Peralta’s honor.

In reflecting on the award, Ricardo Peralta said his brother always fortuitously said he would make history. Even so, Rafael Peralta didn’t serve his country for an award or notoriety.

“He was never about all that,” Ricardo Peralta said. “Regardless of what they give him, it does not take away anything or add to my pride.”

The New York City man who was held at Rikers Island for three years as a teenager and spent more than a year in solitary confinement despite never being tried for or convicted of a crime has committed suicide, according to published reports.

The New Yorker reports that Kalief Browder, 21, hanged himself with an air conditioner at his home in the Bronx on Saturday, nearly two years after he was released from Rikers. He was discovered by his mother, who heard a loud thumping noise from his second-story bedroom and later saw him hanging from the sleeve normally occupied by the air conditioner.

He told his mother the night before his death, “Ma, I can’t take it anymore,” the New Yorker reports.

Browder was arrested in May 2010 after he was accused of stealing another teen’s backpack. His family couldn't raise the $10,000 bail to have him released, so Browder remained incarcerated.

The then-teen spent more than 1,000 days in jail, with nearly 400 days in solitary confinement. The charges against him were dropped in Nov. 2013, but Browder attempted to commit suicide several times during and following his jail stint.

A New Yorker profile on Browder published last October, along with surveillance videos of the teen being assaulted by an officer and beaten by a large group of fellow inmates, sparked outrage over practices at Rikers and led to attempts to reform the prison.

Browder’s case was “bigger than Michael Brown,” the family’s attorney, Paul Prestia told the New Yorker.

“When you go over the three years that he spent [in jail] and all the horrific details he endured, it’s unbelievable that this could happen to a teenager in New York City. He didn't get tortured in some prison camp in another country. It was right here,” he said.

A third staffer who worked for embattled San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts filed a claim Monday with the county, alleging Roberts misused his public office for political purposes and offered her a higher paying job to lie about it to Human Resources.

According to the claim, Roberts' former Deputy Chief of Staff Lindsey Masukawa and other employees in the office were asked by Roberts to “engage in campaign-related activities.”

The claim describes how Masukawa was asked to help build his campaign finance committee. According to the document, “Supervisor Roberts asked Ms. Masukawa to reach out to leaders in the community and ask them to serve on his financial committee. Supervisor Roberts also asked Ms. Masukawa to attend his first Finance Committee meeting, and added the event to her work calendar.”

Similar allegations have been made against the supervisor by his former scheduler Diane Porter and his former Chief of Staff Glynnis Vaughan.

In a statement emailed to NBC 7 Investigates, Roberts called Masukawa's accusations "completely false."

In the claim, Masukawa also describes how she believed the county supervisor attempted to bribe her with a higher position if she lied to HR.

“Ms. Masukawa was in total shock by what she understood to be an attempted bribe from Supervisor Roberts that she would get a promotion and substantial raise if she lied to HR, and told them that Porter and Vaughan were lying about Supervisor Roberts’ improper use of County funds and staff for campaign purposes," the document says.

Attorneys for Masukawa said they do not plan on doing interviews about the claim or the turmoil in Roberts' office and neither will Masukawa.

According to the claim, other examples of employees working on county time for campaign related activities include:

• Roberts directed staff to assist in his fundraising and endorsement efforts.
• Roberts used county resources to build his campaign finance committee.
• Roberts used a county car and driver for campaign and personal purposes.

Masukawa did not respond to multiple requests for comment during NBC7 Investigates' months-long examination of staff turnover in Roberts' office. She began working in the District 3 Office in January 2013, hired as a health and human services policy advisor.

Masukawa resigned in April. According to Roberts, she told the office she was leaving for personal health reasons.

"Up until the last week of work, Ms. Masukawa sent out emails to coworkers, department heads, and to myself, touting nothing but a positive work environment," said Roberts in an email. "Her final personal written statement to her colleagues sent three days before leaving the County said: 'This is the greatest job in the world. I came into the office everyday with a smile on my face, and eagerness to assist the constituents of San Diego County, and took pleasure with improving District 3.'”

According to the claim, if the issues are not resolved with the county, Masukawa’s attorneys are “confident” they can receive money for her at trial, “including lost past and future wages, compensation for the non-economic damages she has suffered, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs.” A dollar amount was not listed.

According to an attorney who spoke with NBC 7 Investigates, if the amount sought is more than $10,000, Masukawa legally does not have to put a figure to it.

This little piggy went whee, whee, whee, as it fled a flipped truck along with thousands of its brethren.

A whopping 2,200 baby pigs ran amok onto an Ohio highway when a tractor-trailer carrying them flipped over Monday evening, NBC affiliate WDTN reported.

The big rig flipped around on U.S. Route 35 in Xenia around 7 p.m., sending the piglets squealing across the highway southeast of Dayton, officials said.

Multiple fire departments, paramedics, police officers and nearby citizens attempted to wrangle the baby pigs and take them to the county fairgrounds, where volunteers and fire crews helped cool off hundreds of pigs.

The company shipping the pigs was sending another rig to pick the piglets up, WDTN reported.

Millions of people use online dating sites every year, but not all of them are looking for love. Many are looking for money.  

Scam artists are delivering heartbreak and fraud to people who let their guard down.

"They are after money," said Eva Velasquez with the Identity Theft Resource Center. Many con artists pretend to be people looking for companionship, but they create phone profiles and pictures to take advantage of others

"Interacting online removes that face-to-face conversation," said Velasquez. "You have to rely on what they are telling you and what their profile site says."

So how can you avoid scam artists using dating sites?

Be skeptical of fast replies. If your emails are answered too quickly, it could be a sign they have been picked up by someone who gets paid to develop online relationships for fraud.

Repetitive content can be a sign that multiple people are answering your messages.

Strange or poor language and grammar may be a sign that you are dealing with someone in a foreign country.

Requests for money is a definite sign that something is not right.  No matter how long you've been chatting, no matter how many emails you've exchanged and no matter how well you think you know this person, if they ask for money, it is not legitimate.

"The successful con artists don't hit you with a money request right off the bat," said Velasquez. "They are playing the long game, so they will interact and engage with you over a period of time to build your trust."

The request for money is often tied to some sort of travel need or to help with a medical emergency.  And if they are not asking for money, they could be asking for personal information that could be used for identity theft.

Having lost about half of its sworn personnel over the last 10 years, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is stepping up its recruitment efforts by, in part, targeting an unlikely group of people: female college athletes.

It’s one of the topics that will be addressed on Wednesday during the department’s retention and attrition update for fiscal year 2015. The update will be made before the city’s Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods committee.

Chief Kenneth Barnes will make the presentation that includes attrition figures to get your attention. Over the last 10 years, 473 San Diego’s city firefighters have either retired, resigned or were discharged. That leaves the majority of firefighters with less than 10 years of experience.

“It’s something that we are concerned about. We want to make sure that we have that experience level, that training that we need out in operations,” said Barnes.

Currently there are 46 vacancies, but Barnes will tell the committee he expects full staffing by fiscal year 2017. This fiscal year there have been three training academies, and three more will be held next fiscal year. It costs about $35,000 per recruit for training.

But retaining firefighters has been a challenge. The department says it’s concerned with an increasing loss of firefighters to other agencies. The reason is lower pay and benefits. A new firefighter, without overtime, will earn $42,496 a year.

“We are low; we are paid less than comparable agencies,” said Barnes.

In his presentation Barnes will detail how the department has stepped up its recent recruiting efforts, and that includes outreach to military personnel and women’s collegiate athletic programs.

“We’ve found there’s a good tie in with college athletes and being able to do our physically demanding job. We’re trying to outreach in areas that are underrepresented in females. College athletics is a good place to look for that,” said Barnes.

Famed former prosecutor and author Vincent Bugliosi has died of cancer at age 80, family members said Monday night.

Bugliosi was best known for successfully prosecuting Charles Manson and three followers for the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six other. He later co-wrote the book “Helter Skelter” detailing the Tate-LaBianca murder trial.

Born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Bugliosi moved to LA in the 1960s, where he earned his law degree from UCLA. During his time with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, he successfully secured convictions in 105 of 106 felony jury trials, including 21 murder cases.

Bugliosi died Saturday, June 6, at a Los Angeles hospital. 

“He was a workaholic. What was remarkable was he always found time for everyone who needed work. Every fan letter he received, he responded to everyone,” said his son, Vincent Bugliosi, Jr.

Bugliosi went into private practice in 1972, and went on to author or co-author a dozen books, including “And the Sea Will Tell,” “Outrage: The Five Reasons Why OJ Simpson Got Away With Murder,” and “The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.”

He is survived by Gail, his wife of 59 years, and his two children, Wendy and Vincent Jr.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he violated banking rules and lied to the FBI about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to someone from his days as high school teacher not to reveal a secret about past misconduct. 

The Department of Justice and IRS allege Hastert, 73, withdrew $1.7 million from various banks between 2010 to 2014 and provided the funds to an unnamed person "to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct" before federal agents began scrutinizing the transactions.

Judge Thomas M. Durkin said Hastert must not violate any laws, cooperate in collection of DNA if authorized by court and advise officials before changing his name or phone number.

The former House speaker surrendered his passport in court. He was also ordered to have no contact with victims or witnesses in the case and have any firearms removed from his property by June 23.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Block. Hastert's plea was entered by his attorney, Thomas Green, of the Chicago-based firm Sidley Austin. The former speaker uttered a "yes" in a low voice when Durkin asked if Hastert understood the $4,500 bond amount.

Haster left his home Tuesday morning and first traveled to Green's office before heading to the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse before 1 p.m. amid a scrum of cameras and reporters. 

A federal law enforcement official told NBC News that Hastert was making payments to a man in order to conceal a sexual relationship they had while the man was a student at Yorkville High School.

Hastert was indicted nearly two weeks ago with making regular withdrawals from his bank accounts below a limit that would require reporting and then lying to federal officials when asked about those withdrawals.

The indictment did not specify the alleged misconduct or identify "Individual A" other than saying the person was someone from Yorkville, Illinois, where Hastert was employed as teacher and wrestling coach from 1965 to 1981.

Hastert's name was removed Thursday from the Washington, D.C. lobbying and law firm where he worked, and a spokesperson there said Hastert had resigned.

If convicted of the charges against him, Hastert faces up to five years in prison for each of the two counts and a $250,000 fine.

Nearly 20 Maryland residents ran a massive drug ring out of a music studio in District Heights and a housing complex in Silver Spring, federal prosecutors said after the accused drug traffickers were arrested Monday.

Following more than a year of surveillance, wire taps and residents' complaints about open-air drug markets, 18 people were arrested on drug charges Monday morning in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Federal prosecutors executed 32 federal warrants, searching 29 homes and two businesses in the residential neighborhoods of District Heights and Silver Spring, Maryland.

Twelve people conspired to distribute crack cocaine and heroin on and near the 14000 block of Bel Pre Drive in Silver Spring, according to prosecutors. Neighbors said they had been living with drug deals on playgrounds where they wished they could take their children. 

Another four people conspired to sell drugs out of a music studio on the 7900 block of Cryden Way in District Heights, prosecutors said. A company called Crooked House Entertainment was a front for the operation, according to officials. 

Inside homes and businesses, officials found large amounts of drugs, more than 11 guns and tens of thousands of dollars in cash.

Twelve Maryland residents were charged with conspiring to distribute at least 280 grams of crack cocaine, 5 kilograms or more of cocaine or 100 grams or more of heroin as part of the Bel Pre Drive network: Frederick J. Davis, 31; William T. "Fats" Fergerson, 42; George Earl Gee, 37; Tiki Harmon, 42; Amir "Meano" Bey-Jones, 41; Keenan Jones, 54; Jovan Brian "Juvie" Lancaster, 30; Joseph Miles, 62; Brandon Richardson, 30; Alfonso Salazar, 38; Ryan Snowden, 30; Sonya Darby "Peaches" Thomas, 37 and Rayvon Walls, 25.

Gee, Miles, Snowden, Richardson and Salazar also were charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The indictment seeks for the Bel Pre Drive network to forfeit $400,000, and names Gee as the leader of the group.

Another four Maryland residents were charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine and at least 1 kilogram of heroin as part of the District Heights network: Vincent Collins, 36; Sierra Lynch, 37; Anthony Niles, 36 and Abdul Hakim Sauda, 30.

Niles and Sauda also were charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.

The indictment seeks for the District Heights network to forfeit $280,000, and names Niles as the leader of the group.

Federal and local officials said they hope they'll see a dip in crime after the arrests.

"This case I hope will make an impact not only by reducing the availability of drugs in this area, but also in eliminating the related violence," U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said.

"We've seen over the past year shootings and other violent crimes that have occurred that I believe have a link back to this group," Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said.

The yearlong investigation was a collaboration among the FBI, Montgomery County police and Prince George's County police, as well as detectives in Philadelphia and New Jersey, where a man also was charged.

All 18 defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Additional arrests may be on the way, prosecutors said.