AUSTIN -- One of Austin's most wanted drug dealers has been arrested and taken off the streets.
APD's Metro Tactical Team believes 28-year-old Keith Lamont Johnson, otherwise known as "Fatty," had been selling large quantities of crack cocaine downtown for at least the past four years.
Last week, the team was able to arrest Johnson after working hand in hand with members of the downtown Austin community who caught Johnson allegedly dealing drugs on camera.
"It's essential. They're the ones that see everything first and hear everything first," said Senior Officer Shana Howell with APD's Metro Tactical Unit.
"They were able to provide us information as far as his habits and patterns."
Howell and the rest of her team spent months working to track down Johnson and gather evidence.
Howell was also caught several times on several different nights on APD's HALO cameras downtown.
"Multiple times throughout the night, multiple days throughout the week consistently delivering narcotics," said Howell.
After tracking Johnson for hours from his home in South Austin using APD's Air One Helicopter and K-9 units, Johnson was arrested without incident on Aug.14.
Johnson was one of the Metro Tactical Unit's top five most wanted offenders.
While officers hope this will make a significant dent in the drug activity downtown, Downtown Austin Commander Troy Officer says they also realize the demand for drugs will not go away.
"I am not under the false belief that if we put two or three people in jail we'll stop drug dealing downtown, but I promise you that we will continue to put people in jail who sell drugs downtown."
Howell said she's seen downtown change over the past 10 years and wants to protect the people who live there.
"Ten years ago we didn't have the high amount of condo residents, so 4th Street, 5th Street and 6th Street turns into people's backyards. They don't want to look out their condo window and see people dealing drugs outside."
Just one reason why the Metro Tactical Unit works to take the most wanted, dangerous criminals off of the streets.
Johnson had nearly six grams of crack cocaine on him when he was arrested downtown last week.
He's charged with delivery of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone, a first-degree felony.
