Bay Area Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Donnie Joe Phillips, 65, of Concord, today to 25 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 Phillips and his co‑defendant Gordon Owen Miller, 60, of Clayton, 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 found guilty of eight counts of distribution and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to evidence produced at trial, 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. On May 15, 2018, Miller was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

This case was 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 prosecuted 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.