Eleven Individuals Arraigned For Original, Additional Charges In Operation "Battle Of Honey Springs"

Eleven Individuals Arraigned For Original, Additional Charges In Operation "Battle Of Honey Springs"

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys on June 19, 2014. It is reproduced in full below.

“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes by the return of an indictment by the Grand Jury. A grand jury Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A grand jury Indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Statutory maximum punishments are in parentheses. United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable."

Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that the following individuals were arraigned in federal court on June 18, 2014, on charges of Conspiracy To Possess With Intent To Distribute And Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, and 841(a)(1).

MICHAEL A. METZKER, a/k/a "Lurch", age 36, of Checotah, Oklahoma

MICHAEL W. METZKER, a/k/a "Chic", age 58, of Checotah, Oklahoma

LACEY RENEE PARK, age 29, of Checotah, Oklahoma

DEREK PARK, age 31, of Checotah, Oklahoma

MARGARET CASEY, age 45, of Checotah, Oklahoma

SHAWNA VANZANT, age 33, of Henryetta, Oklahoma

JACKIE DALE BRUMLEY, age 44, of Noble, Oklahoma

CORNELL TYLEIZ HARVEY, age 29, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

SCOTT WESLEY DUNCAN, age 38, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

SUNNY ANN MARTINEK, age 38, of Norman, Oklahoma

STEVEN D. CARR, age 43, formerly of Checotah, Oklahoma

MICHAEL A. METZKER, a/k/a "Lurch" was also arraigned on charges of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B); Maintaining Drug Involved Premises in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856(a)(1); and thirteen counts of Use of a Communication Device in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b).

MICHAEL W. METZKER, a/k/a "Chic" was also arraigned on charges of two counts of Distribution of Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); Maintaining Drug Involved Premises in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856(a)(1); and six counts of Use of a Communication Device in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b).

MARGARET CASEY was also arraigned on charges of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A); Maintaining Drug Involved Premises in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856(a)(1); and one count of Use of a Communication Device in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b).

LACEY RENEE PARK was also arraigned on charges of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(b); and Maintaining Drug Involved Premises in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856(a)(1).

The Indictment filed on June 11, 2014, charges that beginning in or about April 2013, up to and including April 15, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendants, who were members of the Metzker Drug Trafficking Organization (“Metzker DTO"), acted together in operating the Metzker DTO to distribute drugs for profit, and did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate and agree together, and with other persons known and unknown, to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Distribute Methamphetamine.

Michael A. Metzker, a/k/a "Lurch", a member of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB), was incarcerated in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections from Dec. 24, 2009, until January 8, 2014. Michael A. Metzker, a/k/a "Lurch", utilized his UAB membership, and associations within the UAB, to contact other UAB members to assist in the distribution of methamphetamine. Beginning in or before April 2013, up to an including January 8, 2014, Michael A. Metzker, a/k/a "Lurch", utilized cellular telephones, illegally smuggled into the prison, to coordinate the acquisition and distribution of methamphetamine in Eastern Oklahoma and elsewhere. Upon release from incarceration up to and including April 15, 2014, Michael A. Metzker, a/k/a "Lurch", and his coconspirators continued to acquire and distribute methamphetamine within Eastern Oklahoma.

The charges arose from a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, McAlester Police Department, the Muskogee Police Department, the Checotah Police Department, the Eufaula Police Department, the Stigler Police Department, Districts 18, 23, and 25 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office, the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office, the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Absentee Shawnee Tribal Police, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Kickapoo Nation Tribal Police, United States Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Marshal Service. The investigation was coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma. OCDETF is an initiative led, and coordinated by, the Office of the United States Attorney.

The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearings. All defendants were remanded into the custody of the United States Marshal Service.

The statutory range of punishment for Drug Conspiracy in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), is not less than 10 years and not more than life imprisonment and/or up to $10,000,000.00 in fines.

The statutory range of punishment for Maintaining Drug Involved Premises in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 856(a)(1), is not more than 20 years imprisonment and/or up to $500,000.00 in fines.

The statutory range of punishment for Use of a Communication Device in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 843(b), is not more than 4 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000.00 in fines.

Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys

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