United States Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Frederick Turner, 42, of McBee, South Carolina, was sentenced today in federal court for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, and Possession of a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Turner was found guilty of the charges on Feb. 1, 2021. Turner admitted he and his co-defendant, Sylvia Guerra, traveled with 32 kilos of cocaine through the Southern District of Alabama. Specifically, the Court found that on Dec. 20, 2019, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations unit conducted a traffic stop on a tractor trailer that was being driven by Turner. During the traffic stop, Turner made several suspicious statements to the corporal who had stopped the truck. The corporal then had his K9 partner conduct a free air sniff around the vehicle. The K9 gave a response at the passenger running board, sleeper birth and passenger door. Law enforcement officers then conducted a search of the truck. During a search, a duffel bag containing 32 kilos cocaine was located on the sleeper bed and a pistol was located in a backpack on the passenger seat. A personal use amount of marijuana was also found on the person of Guerra. Turner was interviewed and ultimately admitted to accepting payment for transporting $120,000 in cash to Houston on an earlier trip and for accepting two duffel bags of cocaine for transportation to South Carolina. Turner admitted that the pistol in his truck was his.
Chief United States District Court Judge Kristi DuBose imposed a sentence of 180 months imprisonment, consisting of 120 months on the drug charges and a consecutive sentence of 60 months on the gun charge. The judge also ordered Turner to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon his discharge from prison. Judge DuBose ordered that Turner pay $300 in special assessments. Guerra was sentenced on March 6, 2021 to 120 months for her role in the offense.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorneys Deborah Griffin and Kacey Chappelear.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
