Federal prosecutors have charged five men — Jaylin Arnold, Tarrell Smith, Deshawn Powell, Joshua Thomas, and Bernard Spencer — with running a fentanyl and cocaine distribution operation out of apartments in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood, the same building where Officer Krystal Rivera was fatally struck by her partner's gun in June 2025 while chasing Arnold, who was allegedly carrying a firearm at the time. Investigators say the crew advertised its drug sales using novelty "Nova's Exotic Beverages" business cards printed with a dedicated phone number, and raids on the operation turned up quantities of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine along with handguns modified with machine gun conversion devices. Arnold already pleaded guilty to a state gun charge tied to the pursuit and was sentenced to eight years, while all five men now face separate federal drug trafficking charges stemming from the broader investigation that authorities say was prompted by Rivera's death.
Read the original report at CWBChicago.