Bay Area Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Gordon Owen Miller, 60, of Clayton, to 20 years in prison for methamphetamine trafficking, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

On February 7, 2018, after a five-day trial, a federal jury found Miller and his co‑defendant Donnie Joe Phillips, 65, of Concord, guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Miller was found guilty of two counts of distribution and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Phillips was also found guilty of eight counts of distribution and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to trial evidence, between June 2014 and February 2015, Phillips and Miller supplied methamphetamine to co-defendant Phyliss Mosher, 51, of Vallejo, who supplied it to an undercover agent. The drug deals took place in Solano and Yolo Counties. On January 25, 2018, Mosher was sentenced to 15 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy on May 9, 2017. Phillips is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Mendez on June 19, 2018.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, the Vallejo Police Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt and Jill Thomas are prosecuting the case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. 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.