Lawrence “Stoney" Scriver sentenced to 30 years in prison
Jeffrey Scott Braden sentenced to minimum mandatory life sentence
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-On Feb. 28, 2014, Lawrence “Stoney" Scriver, 46, of Lake City, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge. Scriver pleaded guilty in July 2013, to a federal grand jury indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine, aided and abetted by others. Scriver’s prior felony state drug conviction triggered a minimum mandatory 20 year sentence under federal sentencing laws. However, Chief Judge Varlan enhanced Scriver’s mandatory minimum sentence, based on the finding that Scriver was the leader of the conspiracy that produced approximately 1500 grams of methamphetamine over the course of the conspiracy.
On Feb. 27, 2014, Jeffrey Scott Braden, 37, of Vowell Mountain, Tenn. was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge. After a trial in U.S. District Court, Braden was convicted as charged in September 2013. The jury found Braden guilty of one count of conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possessing materials, chemicals, and equipment used to manufacture methamphetamine, and one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Braden’s six prior felony state drug convictions triggered a minimum mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole under federal sentencing laws.
The indictment, which charged 42 people with methamphetamine manufacturing crimes, and subsequent convictions of Scriver and Braden, was the result of “Operation Meth-odical Destruction," which was a joint investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Methamphetamine and Pharmaceutical Drug Task Force, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, Oak Ridge Police department, Seventh Judicial Crime Task Force, and Clinton Police Department. Since March 21, 2013, 41 of the 42 charged defendants have been convicted. Assistant United States Attorney David P. Lewen, Jr. represented the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
