Mooresburg, Tennessee Resident Sentenced to Twenty Years in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Conspiracy

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Mar.16, 2017, Steven Dwight Hopkins, aka “Rabbit”, 46, of Mooresburg, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 240 months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine (meth) in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

According to his plea agreement on file with U.S. District Court, Hopkins admitted that he was responsible for at least 1.5 kilograms but less than 4.5 kilograms of actual meth. He admitted to cooking meth since 2000. In August 2014, Hopkins was arrested following a traffic stop in Whitley County, Ga., on his way to obtain a quarter pound of meth. Hopkins was a member of the Chicken Head Mafia, along with a number of the other individuals charged in this conspiracy. He and other members of the Chicken Head Mafia looked out and protected each other during the meth trafficking conspiracy. Hopkins also belonged to the Copperhead Motorcycle Club. At times, Hopkins admitted that he obtained eight to 10 ounces of meth per week from co-defendant Rick Munsey, 48, of Del Rio, Tenn. Hopkins sold meth to a large customer base in and around Hamblen County, Tenn.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, Morristown Police Department and Third and Fourth District Judicial Drug Task Forces. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.

This case was a result of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

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