Federal Jury Convicts Pittsburg County Residents Of Narcotics And Money Laundering Offenses

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Early Willard Woodmore, III, age 34, of Quinton, Oklahoma and Calvin James Woodmore, age 33, of McAlester, Oklahoma were found guilty by a federal jury of Drug Conspiracy, Drug Distribution, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Money Laundering. A copy of the original indictment can be found at https://go.usa.gov/xdYg4. All other indicted codefendants previously entered pleas of guilty.

The jury trial began with testimony on Monday, April 4, 2022, and concluded on Thursday, April 7, 2022, with the verdicts of guilty on all counts for both defendants. Based on the jury’s verdicts, both Early Willard Woodmore III and Calvin James Woodmore could receive up to life imprisonment.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that beginning in 2017 and continuing until the end of 2019, Early Woodmore, III operated a methamphetamine distribution organization based in Haskell and Pittsburg counties.  Early Woodmore, III, working with his source of supply in California, received numerous multi-pound shipments of methamphetamine sent through the United States Postal Service to various addresses in Haskell and Pittsburg counties. Early Woodmore, III, Calvin Woodmore, and other codefendants repackaged the methamphetamine into smaller quantities and distributed it in the Pittsburg and Haskell county area. After being arrested in April 2019 on state charges of assault and kidnapping, the Woodmores continued to operate the organization from within the Haskell County Jail, utilizing the inmate phone system. The Woodmore drug trafficking organization utilized money wire services and banks to send payments for the methamphetamine to the source of supply in California. The trial evidence further showed that the Woodmores engaged in acts of violence and retaliation against those they suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.

The guilty verdicts arose from a joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), along with Haskell County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (“OBN”), the District 18 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), the National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the McAlester Police Department, and the Stigler Police Department. The investigation was part of and included members of the DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking (“HIDTA”) Task Force.

This case is also part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. The OCDETF program is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established to conduct comprehensive, multilevel 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 illicit drug supply.

The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of the presentence reports for both defendants. Sentencings will be scheduled following completion of the reports. Both defendants were remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending the imposition of the sentencings.

Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Conway and Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Cheung represented the United States.