A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment charging four Youngstown men with narcotics and firearms violations, said Carole S. Rendon, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Tawayme Jett, 36; Jamal Pusey, 37; Michael Reynolds, 33, and Olajuwon Perkins, 26, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine. Jett and Pusey are also charged with being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Pusey maintained two residences in Youngstown for the purposes of selling narcotics. Pusey, Reynolds, Perkins and Jett then used these two residences to store and sell crack cocaine and store firearms, according to the indictment.
Pusey and Jett possessed firearms to protect themselves and their drug proceeds, according to the indictment.
The defendants, between March and June 2015, sold crack cocaine to confidential sources, possessed firearms, ammunition, crack cocaine, digital scales and drug proceeds, according to the indictment.
Pusey and Jett are also charged with being convicted felons who possessed multiple firearms on June 23, 2015.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including each of the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
