Seventeen Individuals Indicted On Drug Conspiracy Charges

“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes.  An Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt.  An Indictment is a method of bringing charges against a defendant.  A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court.  Federal prison sentences are non-parolable.”

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that the following individuals were indicted on charges stemming from a drug conspiracy.  All defendants are charged with DRUG CONSPIRACY, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846; and various defendants are charged with related crimes, including, CONTINUING CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 848(a), 848(b), 848(c), 848(d) and 848(s); POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1); DISTRIBUTION OF METHAMPHETAMINE, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1); USE OF A COMMUNICATION DEVICE IN FURTHERNACE OF DRUG TRAFFICKING, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b); POSSESSION OF FIREARM IN FURTHERANCE OF A DRUG TRAFFICKING CRIME, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A) and 2; and FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2) and 2 and a DRUG FORFEITURE allegation:

CODY McCLENDON, age 35, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

MICHAEL LINCOLN, age 39, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

AMBER CLAPHAN, age 33, of Stilwell, Oklahoma

DONALD TRAMMEL, age 40, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

SAMANTHA SMITH, age 21, of Muskogee, Oklahoma

TERESA CHAGOLLA, age 54, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

JACOB HORTON MASTERS JR, age 54, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

NATHAN ROWDEN GREEN, age 27, of Hulbert, Oklahoma

DUSTY ALLEN DRYWATER, age 33, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

ASHLEY NOEL STEELE, age 29, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

JIMMY W. SEQUICHIE JR., age 24, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

REGINA ANN BALLARD, age 37, of Stilwell, Oklahoma
a/k/a REGINA HUMMINGBIRD

MATILDA KAY BIRDTAIL, age 20, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

FREDERIC PETERSEN BECK JR., age 53, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

GARY WAYNE WILDER, age 35, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma

BRENDA AILEEN AIRINGTON, age 54, of Kellyville, Oklahoma

BRYAN STEVEN LAFAVOR, age 34, of Checotah, Oklahoma

The Superseding Indictment alleges that from beginning in or about the end of 2013, the exact date being unknown to the Grand Jury, and continuing until on or about January 27, 2016, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the Defendants did knowingly and intentionally conspire, confederate and agree with each other, and with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to possess with intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine.

The Investigation revealed that Cody McClendon III, a/k/a Cody-Mac, an Indian Brother Hood (IBH) gang member, while an inmate with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in McAlester, Oklahoma, was utilizing a contraband cellular phone that he kept hidden on his person and inside his prison cell to facilitate the sale and distribution of methamphetamine. McClendon was doing this by using the cellular phone to communicate with co-conspirators via audio phone calls, text messages, and by communicating on the social media website Facebook.  The Defendants, through their affiliation with the IBH prison gang, promoted a climate of fear through threats of violence and attempted to commit acts of violence to protect and expand the drug organization’s criminal operations.

The charges arose from a joint investigation entitled “Home of the Brave” coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma.  OCDETF is an initiative led and coordinated by the Office of the United States Attorney.  The agencies involved in the investigation were the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the McAlester Police Department, the Tahlequah Police Department, the Muskogee Police Department, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, Districts 13, 18, 25 and 27 District Attorney’s Drug Task Forces and Violent Crime Task Forces, the Muskogee County District Attorney’s Office, the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the McAlester and Tulsa Offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearings.  All defendants were remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.