TYLER, Texas - U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that 18 individuals have been arrested following a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Texas.
On Feb. 5, 2015, a combined task force of federal, state and local law enforcement executed federal arrest warrants in Gregg and Upshur counties as a result of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Drug Administration, Gregg County CODE Unit, Longview Police Department, and Gregg County Sheriff’s Office.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 18 of 20 defendants named in a 37-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Jan 21, 2015. According to the indictment, from at least January 2010 to the present, the defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in East Texas. The indictment also includes 14 charges of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, 20 charges of felon in possession of a firearm and two charges of possession of an unregistered firearm. Those arrested and named in the indictment are:
MICHAEL DAIN BONNER, 38-years-old,
DAVID FRANKLIN BECK, JR., 48-years-old,
MICHAEL DEWAYNE JONES, aka “Sleepy", 27-years-old,
STEPHEN DWAYNE CANNADA, aka “Little Wood", 40-years-old,
CYNTHIA BETH BRANTLEY, 56-years-old,
DEVON VERNON HARRIS, aka “Cali", 37-years-old,
BRODERICK LAMAIL JONES, aka “BA", 30-years-old,
KATLIN QUATEZ GODFREY, aka “Slim/KG", 28-years-old,
TROY OWEN, JR., 34-years-old,
MARK CYRUS HIPP, 35-years-old,
CHRISTOPHER EVERETT BROOK, aka “Blue," 40-years-old,
KEITH DEONDRAY YOUNG, aka “Tugg," 34-years-old,
LARRY GENE KEEN, aka “Junior," 37-years-old,
CARLA THOMAS HAWKINS, aka “Breeze," 44-years-old,
COURTNEY BREANNE MCMULLEN, 25-years-old,
CHASE ANTHONY HAGLER, 31-years-old,
JESSICA MILLESON. 25-years-old, and
HEATHER REBECCA BECK, 45-years-old.
All of the defendants are residents of the Gregg/Upshur County area. If convicted, the defendants face as much as life in federal prison.
This case is being investigated by ATF, DEA, Gregg County CODE Unit, Longview Police Department, and Gregg County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Moore.
An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
