NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Officials say that at least 12 men have been sent to jail for their parts in a multi-state drug conspiracy that involved selling drugs in Middle Tennessee and other states.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that investigations began in 2022 after big shipments of fake marijuana, methamphetamine, and pills with fentanyl were sent from California to Tennessee and about 16 other states.
During the investigation, agents allegedly looked at shipped items, social media accounts, and surveillance video. This helped them figure out that 28-year-old Mathew Cox was the one sending the packages to other people in the drug trafficking conspiracy.
Quortez Duncan, another suspect, is said to have told Cox in one of the social media texts that he wanted “stronger pills to get customers hooked on the pills to increase profits.” Officials said Cox did what they asked and tried to send the drugs to Duncan, but agents stopped them.
The DOJ talked about a specific event that happened on July 25, 2022. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) took a package that was meant to be sent to Nashville from a UPS store in Sebastopol, California. Investigators said they found over two kilograms of fake fentanyl-laced pills and more than eight pounds of methamphetamine inside the package.
After a month, on August 9, officials stopped two more packages from Santa Rosa, California, that were also going to Nashville. One package was said to have 472 grams of pills mixed with fentanyl, and the other package had about 4 pounds of methamphetamine.
Officers carried out search warrants at several homes in Tennessee and California after gathering a “overwhelming amount of evidence.” Police found weapons, assault rifles, a lot of cash, expensive cars, marijuana, and a lot of fake pills with fentanyl in them during the searches.
The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Nashville Field Office, Joseph E. Carrico, said, “These defendants were part of a cross-country plot that brought large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana to Tennessee.” “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are still determined to hold those responsible who try to poison our communities.”
The DOJ says that all 12 men were found guilty of planning to sell controlled drugs. Three of the men were also found guilty of illegally possessing guns after having been convicted of felonies before.
As part of the drug trafficking plot, the following people were sentenced:
Quortez Duncan, 37: Given a 15-year prison sentence
Mathew Cox, 28, was given a sentence of 11 years and 8 months in prison.
26-year-old Jonny Rodriguez-Gonzalez was given a sentence of 11 years and 2 months.
Ricardo Molinero-Alcarez, 29, was given a 10-year prison sentence.
23, Khyre McClain was given a 10-year prison sentence.
(30) Davontay Holt: Given a 10-year sentence
Marcus Johnson, 27, got 5 years in prison.
25, Tristain Orr: Given a 5-year prison sentence
I gave Ethan Kimes, 22, two years in prison.
marquitues sawyers, 24: given a one-year and eight-month sentence
Jahari Armstrong, 22, was given three years of probation.
Jaydan Armstrong, 22, was given three years of probation.
There was help with the case from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Tennessee Bureau of case (TBI), and the Columbia Police Department.
