Samuel Dewayne Monroe, 39, of Houston, Texas, pled guilty on Feb. 22, 2017, in United States District Court to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today.
On Feb. 18, 2016, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging that eight Houston residents participated in a conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine into the Southern District of Illinois. In addition to the drug crimes, the United States also sought forfeiture of $1,212,934 in United States Currency that was seized on December 2nd and 3rd of 2015, along with jewelry appraised at $72,000. As part of his plea, Monroe agreed to forfeit any interest he has in the property that was seized.
As charged in this case, conspiracy to distribute cocaine is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and up to life imprisonment. Monroe also faces a fine of up $10,000,000, and not less than 5 years supervised release. However, the United States Sentencing Guidelines must be applied to the case and considered by the Court during sentencing. Monroe is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2017. The 7 co-defendants in the case, Astin Allison, Nahum Shibeshi, Terrance Miles, Victor Johnson, Jamie Green, Rodney Smith and Dan E. Bell, have all pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The investigation is being conducted by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration as part of the OCDETF program. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
