Twenty people from Mississippi and Tennessee — including 14 law enforcement officers — have been arrested and charged in connection with a drug trafficking conspiracy operating across the Mississippi Delta.
Brandon Addison, Javery Howard, Milton Gaston, Truron Grayson, Bruce Williams, Sean Williams, Dexture Franklin, Wendell Johnson, Marcus Nolan, Aasahn Roach, Jeremy Sallis, Torio Chaz Wiseman, Pierre Lakes, Derrik Wallace, Marquivious Bankhead, Chaka Gaines, Martavis Moore, Jamario Sanford, Marvin Flowers, and Dequarian Smith were charged with drug distribution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
The arrests took place in multiple counties within the Northern District of Mississippi and Shelby County, Tennessee.
Nineteen of the defendants also face charges of carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Court filings indicate that 14 of the defendants were local law enforcement officials in the Mississippi Delta region.
“They betrayed the trust that the public placed in them, disgraced the badge, and undermined the hard work across this state and across the region,” said FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey, according to WAPT 16. “We will not tolerate public corruption amongst America’s criminal justice system.”
If convicted, sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation is being led by the FBI Jackson Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner of the Northern District of Mississippi and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff announced the arrests.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Mims is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.