A Longview resident, Desmond Denard Brown, also known as Money C, has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for his role in trafficking fentanyl. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs for the Eastern District of Texas.
Brown, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. On October 30, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle sentenced him to 206 months in federal prison.
Court documents showed that on June 20, 2024, Brown received a package through the U.S. Postal Service containing nearly five and a half kilograms of pills laced with fentanyl. The pills were designed to look like legitimate oxycodone tablets, marked “M” and “30.” Authorities estimate the street value of these pills at over $500,000. A search of Brown’s phone revealed multiple text messages about distributing the pills illegally.
Brown has three prior felony convictions: aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He was on federal supervised release when he committed this offense.
The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Eastern District of Texas Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. According to the press release: "HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security." The operation is described as "a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime." It also "streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."
Multiple agencies participated in investigating this case: Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Homeland Security Investigations; Gregg County Sheriff’s Office; and Longview Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek prosecuted the case.
