Shreveport Man, Texas Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy

SHREVEPORT, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Shreveport man and a Texas man were sentenced Thursday to 219 months and 168 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution operation that stretched from Natchitoches, La., to Mexico.

Raymond D. Conley, 39, of Shreveport, was sentenced Thursday to 219 months in prison and Santiago Lopez, 41, of Harlingen, Texas, was sentenced to 168 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. They were also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to evidence presented at the February 6, 2014 guilty pleas, law enforcement authorities became aware that Conley was storing illegal drugs at a girlfriend’s residence in Natchitoches. The property was searched on September 9, 2013, and Conley and Lopez were found there. They also found three large plastic wrapped bundles, one of which field tested positive for methamphetamine, and 13 one-ounce baggies containing methamphetamine. Conley admitted to storing the drugs at the Natchitoches home, and Lopez admitted to transporting the drugs from Mexico to the Natchitoches area for distribution.

“Those who deal in illegal narcotics will be brought to justice,” Finley stated. “We will continue to protect our communities from those who want to pollute them with dangerous drugs.  I want to commend the prosecutor and the law enforcement agencies in this case for their hard work and dedication to this case.”

The defendants were arrested as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation code named “Crystal Bend.” The DEA, ATF, Louisiana State Police, and Natchitoches Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force participated in this OCDETF operation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. Cowles Jr. prosecuted the case.

            The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle targeted criminal organizations and seize their assets.