September 27, 2012

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Maurice William Gravely, 41, of Gray, Tenn., was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, to serve 210 months in federal prison followed by six years on supervised release. Gravely pleaded guilty on February 15, 2012, to a federal indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and money laundering.

Gravely admitted that he was involved with others in south Florida supplying oxycodone to several individuals in the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee as well as southwest Virginia. Co- conspirators deposited cash from drug proceeds into the bank accounts of other co-conspirators as payment for these drugs. Gravely admitted to distributing between 4,976 and 15,000 oxycodone pills and laundering between $120,000 and $200,000 dollars in drug proceeds.

All 26 of the individualscharged in the indictment with Gravely have now been convicted, including: Rodney Allen Mitchell, 32, of Kingsport, Tenn.; Cedric D’Andre Mitchell, 22, of Big Stone Gap, Va.; Rachel Nichole Goad, 34, of Kingsport, Tenn.; Curtis Louis Prior, Jr., 35, of Kingsport, Tenn.; Jennifer Mitchell, 38, Kingsport, Tenn.; Lloyd James Steed, Jr., 34, Detroit, Mich.; Gilbert Miller, 42, Kingsport, Tenn.; James Howard Poole, Jr., 39, Kingsport, Tenn.; Jarian Hamler, 31, Jonesborough, Tenn..; Joshua Clark Martin, 29, Kingsport, Tenn.; Shawn James Banks, 40, Detroit, Mich.; Marquis Cornelius Taylor, 37, Miami, Fla.; Nekia Dwayne Clark, 35, Big Stone Gap, Va.; Allen Vaughn Crews, 37, Centerville, Va.; Justin Colby Vaughn, 36, Del Ray Beach, Fla.; Antwain Dwayne Hollinger, 33, Big Stone Gap, Va.; Adrian Jamal Cornette, 27, Wise County, Va.; Mose Devaughn White, 34, Johnson City, Tenn.; Duvale Pruitt, 37, Kingsport, Tenn.; Stephen Anthony Graham, 25, Johnson City, Tenn.; Stacy Montague White, 39, Kingsport, Tenn.; Keira Lashawn Moore, 29, Big Stone Gap, Va.; Semmaj Jarquis Taylor, 40, Dearfield Beach, Fla.; Dena Marie McGaughey, 39, Delray Beach, Fla.; and Victoria Danielle Bays, Johnson City, Tenn.

The indictment and subsequent conviction of Gravely was the result of a four-year investigation conducted by the Tennessee Second Judicial District Drug Task Force, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, Kingsport Tennessee Police Department, Sullivan County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, Bristol Tennessee Police Department, Johnson City Tennessee Police Department, Washington County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division, all of which provided valuable assistance during the course of the investigation. Assistant U. S. Attorneys Robert M. Reeves and Suzanne Kerney-Quillen , Eastern District of Tennessee and Zachary T. Lee, Western District of Virginia, represented the United States.

Other individuals related to this investigation have been prosecuted by the offices of Sullivan County Tennessee District Attorney General Barry Staubus, and the Wise County Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronald K. Elkins, which have been involved with the investigation since its inception in 2007.

U. S. Attorney Bill Killian commended the hard work and joint cooperation of the law enforcement agencies who worked the investigation. “This investigation started with Tennessee’s Second Judicial District Drug Task Force, but it took a joint effort by all agencies involved to get this kind of result. I want to commend all those agencies and individuals involved."

The investigation is 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.