Charges Include Methamphetamine Distribution, Firearm Possession
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that several people from the Tahlequah area have been indicted and sentenced to federal prison as a result of a multi-agency investigation referred to as “Operation Juggernaut." Juggernaut was the work of investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Tahlequah Police Department (TPD), the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service (CNMS), the District 27 District Attorney’s Office, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP). The investigation was related to distribution of methamphetamine and firearm offenses. Each defendant was indicted separately.
Those indicted as a result of Juggernaut were Dave Ellis Wilson, aka “Jughead," age 44, Gary Edward Scott, age 39, Mary Ann Scott, age 42, Anthony Lewayne Byfield, age 29, and Christopher Andrew Loveall, age 25, from Tahlequah, and Jason Fred Fortner, age 43 of Hulbert. They have each entered guilty pleas and been sentenced.
Wilson was sentenced on Sept. 12, 2018, receiving 120 months in prison, for distributing a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. In addition, he received 3 years’ supervised release to follow his prison term.
Mary Scott, Gary Scott, and Fortner were indicted and sentenced for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Mary Scott was sentenced on Sept. 12, 2018, to 120 months in prison and 8 years’ supervised release. Gary Scott, also sentenced on Sept. 12, 2018, received a 46 month prison term with 3 years’ supervised release. Fortner, sentenced on July 11, 2018, received a 108 month prison sentence followed by 4 years’ supervised release.
Byfield, who had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, was indicted for unlawfully possessing a firearm which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce. He was sentenced on September 5, 2018 to a term of 57 months to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release. Loveall was sentenced on June 7, 2018 to 37 months in prison and 3 years’ supervised release for receiving a firearm which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce while he was under Indictment or Information for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
“Juggernaut was a series of investigations with common components that involved local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies. Because these agencies routinely communicate and work with each other, they became aware of certain connections between their individual investigations and worked toward the common goal of making our communities safer," said United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester. “This joint operation not only removed illegal drugs and guns from Tahlequah and surrounding communities, it likely prevented tens of thousands of dosage units of methamphetamine from reaching would be consumers. I commend the dedicated professionals from the ATF, TPD, CCSO, CNMS, OHP and the District 27 DA’s Office for their cooperative efforts which allowed members of this office to successfully prosecute these people."
"The sentences handed down are a direct result of cooperation between ATF and our Oklahoma law enforcement partners," stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II. “ATF’s commitment to reducing firearm and violent crimes will not waver. Those that engage in illegal firearms and narcotics trade fuel violent crime; therefore, we will prioritize resources to ensure those individuals are removed from our communities for the longest period of time possible."
The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over each of the sentencing hearings. The defendants will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the non-parolable sentences will be served.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
