Ft. Myers, Florida - Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury today found Brown Laster, Jr. (37, Tampa), also known as “AB" and “Rooster;" Jerry Browdy (44, Riverview), also known as “JB," “Red," and “Cuz;" and Wesley Petiphar (30, Davenport), also known as “Wildman," guilty of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Each faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 25 years, up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for Oct. 30, 2017.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Laster, Browdy, and Petiphar were part of a conspiracy to ship kilograms of methamphetamine from Sacramento, California to various hotels in Florida and Georgia via Federal Express. The evidence showed that, throughout 2015, the men had sent approximately 40 packages of methamphetamine through the mail per week. The packages were delivered to coconspirators who had been recruited to wait at the hotels for the packages of methamphetamine to arrive. The packages were then delivered to local drug traffickers. In addition, witness testimony revealed that the men enforced the conspiracy through violence, including one incident where a cooperating witness had a gun placed in his mouth with such force that the gun knocked out some of his front teeth.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office (Georgia), the Placer County Sheriff’s Office (California), the Lakeland Police Department, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Baeza and Mike Leeman.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
