TYLER, Texas – U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that 16 individuals have been charged in a federal firearms and drug trafficking conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas.
According to the three indictments, which were returned by a federal grand jury on Mar. 16, 2016, the 16 defendants are alleged to be involved in a conspiracy by either members or associates of the Aryan Brotherhood and criminal street gangs to violate federal firearms and narcotics laws in the Gregg County, Texas area. Those named in the indictments from Longview include:
- Haley Still, 29;
- Courtney Crim-Gross, 39;
- James Todd Harrington, Jr., 34;
- David Wayne Williams, 30;
- Chad David Dunaway, 23;
- Brandon Scott Cheatum, 34;
- Brandon Michael Allen, 31;
- Jason Ray Ragan, 26;
- Erick Lamar Addison, 37;
- James Lamar Fountain, 34;
- Charles Tarez Rollins, 41;
- Alvin Lee Thompson, 42;
- Kenneth Ray Addison, 41; and
- Gena Elizabeth Rowley, 36.
Also indicted was Timothy Paul Morales, 23, of Galveston, Texas.
The defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine from at least January 2014. Many of the defendants are also charged with firearms violations such as being felons in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. If convicted, they face penalties of from five years to Life in federal prison.
This operation used confidential informants, search warrants, traffic stops, and other investigative tools to seize over 15 firearms and 650 grams of methamphetamine.
This 10-month, multi-agency investigation was led by the Tyler Texas Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Field Office and Tyler Texas Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office with assistance provided by the Gregg County CODE Unit, Longview Police Department, Gregg County Sherriff’s Office, and the Tyler Texas Drug Enforcement Administration Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Middleton.