San Mateo Man Wanted in Connection With Bay Area Drug Bust

A San Mateo resident is being sought by federal agents in connection with drug trafficking and gang activity, officials confirmed Thursday.

Authorities identified the man as Tony Giovanni Joseph, 30, according to Jack Gillund, a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman.

Joseph is one of six fugitives wanted after a raid in which 900 FBI agents, along with officers from local agencies, arrested 27 people on suspicion of selling crack cocaine and methamphetamine.

The other five suspects being sought are:

• Joey Earl Williams, 48, of Newark
• Derrick Lane, 39, of East Palo Alto
• Shawn Curtis McKnight, 49, of East Palo Alto, San Mateo and Sunnyvale
• Charles Edward Menifee, III, 20, of Menlo Park
• Jesus Segura, 31, of San Jose

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said the arrests were the result of a two-year investigation that focused on "an associated group of individuals who supplied drugs, which included cocaine and methamphetamine, to multiple gangs in the area of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park,” according to a press release.

"This operation resulted in a significant blow against the scourge of gangs, drugs and violence in our communities," said East Palo Alto Police Chief Ronald Davis at a Wednesday news conference at the Federal Building in San Francisco.

The probe was carried out by a federal, state and local coalition called the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force.

East Palo Alto Police Chief Ronald Davis said at a news conference at the Federal Building in San Francisco, "This operation resulted in a significant blow against the scourge of gangs, drugs and violence in our communities.

I'm very confident today's operation will impact violence for this year and next year," Davis said.

Menlo Park Police Chief Bryan Roberts said, "Task forces of this nature are a crucial component for local law enforcement to effectively address violent crime and narcotic trafficking in their communities."

The defendants were charged with various drug trafficking crimes in at least 15 different grand jury indictments and criminal complaints.

Most of the charges were filed under seal on Jan. 31 and unsealed Wednesday.

In addition to the 27 arrested Tuesday, six other defendants are fugitives, Haag said. She said money, drugs, firearms and cars were seized in the searches.

Haag said the FBI agents who helped to carry out Tuesday's arrests and searches came from FBI SWAT teams in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, Phoenix and Las Vegas, she said.

She said federal and state agencies participating in the two-year investigation were the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the California Highway Patrol.

Local agencies that joined in the investigation included the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the East Palo Alto, Fremont, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Newark, Oakland, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Santa Clara and Stockton police departments.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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