This afternoon, Jerome Johnson, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, for Criminal Conspiracy (Trafficking in Heroin 28 grams or more). Johnson was found guilty in February,
in the first Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (NETFORCE) case to go to trial.
Johnson was arrested in September 2020, in Operation Block Party, a long-term NETFORCE investigation into local drug trafficking organizations. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies worked together during the investigation.
Johnson, who goes by the street name “Ninja,” was caught on surveillance by law enforcement negotiating a drug deal and selling heroin.
Assistant State Attorney John Dommerich Jr., Chief of Special Prosecutions, and Assistant State Attorney Natalie Savino prosecuted the case.
State Attorney Amira Fox created NETFORCE in 2019 to coordinate a circuit-wide approach to identifying, investigating, and dismantling long-term organized crime, narcotics, racketeering, and money-laundering criminal enterprises.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office