Alleged drug dealer caught twice: in a car chase and on a wiretap, feds say

SHARE Alleged drug dealer caught twice: in a car chase and on a wiretap, feds say

Not only was a north suburban gang member nabbed after a high-speed, 4-mile chase — a government wiretap also captured his panicked call to his pal after he tossed about half a kilo of heroin from his vehicle, according to the feds.

On July 2, Gabriel “Big Gee” Morton was fleeing the Waukegan cops on U.S. Route 41 when he called fellow Conservative Vice Lords gang member Eric “Fish” Fears in a panic, according to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent’s affidavit.

“Hey, Fish. I’m on a high speed with the police,” Morton allegedly said. “I threw some s— out . . . I’m getting locked up.” Morton hit a guardrail, shredded a front tire and his engine began smoking. He pulled over and was arrested on Route 41.

Fears then called Morton’s wife to tell her to remove contraband from Morton’s Round Lake house, the affidavit said.

“Clean the house out right f—— now,” he allegedly said.

Morton’s wife later allegedly said she arranged for someone to remove guns from the house, the DEA affidavit said.

Police found no drugs or guns in the house in a later search.

Fears allegedly phoned his associates to say he was watching the police on Route 41 as they used dogs to search for the drugs Morton tossed.

Two days later, on the Fourth of July, police found 568 grams of heroin north of Amhurst Parkway on Route 41. Fears was lurking nearby, according to records that showed his cell phone’s location.

The narrative of secretly recorded calls is part of a drug conspiracy case filed Sept. 15 in U.S. District Court against Morton and Fears, as well as alleged Chicago drug trafficker Shawn Essex and others. The DEA paid a former Conservative Vice Lords “enforcer” $18,500 to provide information against the men, the complaint said.

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