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Approximately 40 individuals were arrested today pursuant to 10 federal indictments filed in the Southern District of Mississippi charging defendants from Lauderdale, Newton, Neshoba, Scott, and Jasper counties in Mississippi, as well as Mexico, California, Texas, and Alabama. The charges stem from a four-year federal investigation of multiple drug trafficking operations distributing methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illegal drugs.
The indictments charge various drug trafficking crimes, including, but not limited, to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to do so. Several defendants face mandatory minimum sentences because of the significant quantities of illegal drugs involved, and some defendants face enhanced penalties for crimes involving methamphetamine where minors were present, or for drug trafficking near schools. Additionally, some defendants have been charged with firearms-related crimes or using a telephone to threaten injury or death to another using an explosive device.
The following defendants were arrested today:
32-year-old Tavia Armstrong, of Meridian
32-year-old Alyssia Boose, of Newton
46-year-old Billy Boose of Newton
49-year-old Fred Campbell of Meridian
29-year-old Jacoby Clayton of Meridian
37-year-old Mario Cole of Meridian
35-year-old Bobby Coleman of Union
46-year-old George Collier of Pelahatchie
47-year-old Christopher Evans of Union
33-year-old Tabbgrinn Graham of Decatur
52-year-old James Green of Meridian
37-year-old Cassady Harris of Union
45-year-old Yvette Herring of Riverside, CA
32-year-old Dakota Holt of Meridian
46-year-old Edward House of Meridian
40-year-old Jeffery Jennings 0f Meridian
50-year-old James Johnson of Louin
52-year-old Cedric Jones of Houston, TX
43-year-old Lajason Jones of Decatur
44-year-old Markee Jones of Meridian
46-year-old Nathan Kendricks of Meridian
41-year-old Kevin King of Meridian
30-year-old Todrian Laphand of Meridian
31-year-old John Little of Meridian
35-year-old Nicholas Massey of Decatur
43-year-old Kenneth McCurdy of Forest
54-year-old Jeffery Murrell of Newton
42-year-old Johnny Patton of Quitman
35-year-old Darius Powell of Meridian
38-year-old Marcus Powell of Meridian
41-year-old Raykeitdgrith Ricks of Lawrence
38-year-old Znthony Ruffin of Toomsuba
33-year-old Dustin Jamal Russell of Newton
48-year-old Steven Savell of Union
42-year-old Carlos Seals of Meridian
31-year-old Brandon Slaughter of Meridian
27-year-old Jacorie Smith of Meridian
39-year-old Curtis Spivey of Philadelphia
52-year-old Billy Wilson of Cuba, AL
46-year-old Crisseta Wood of Union.
Additional defendants charged in the indictments have not yet been arrested.
Initial court appearances are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judges F. Keith Ball and LaKeysha Greer Isaac in U.S. District Court in Jackson.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi, Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations, Acting Special Agent in Charge Steve Hofer of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Marshal Mark Shepherd.
The cases are being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the East Mississippi Drug Task Force and Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alabama 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, the Newton County Sheriff’s Department, and the Scott County Sheriff’s Department.
The following agencies also assisted in the investigation: U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office, Philadelphia Police Department, Decatur Police Department, Union Police Department, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Mississippi Commercial Truck Enforcement Division, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Mississippi Alcoholic Beverage Control, and the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla J. Clark is prosecuting the cases. The Office of Enforcement Operations in the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division also assisted.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
