Nine Indicted for Drug Trafficking and Firearms Offenses

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On May 15, 2024, a federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, returned a 21-count indictment against nine defendants—Jamal Witcher, 35, of Mansfield, Ohio; Taeshawn Witcher, 18, of Detroit, Michigan; Skyler Anthony Starkey Steward, 18, of Mansfield, Ohio; Ricky Lynn Coffey, 36, of Bean Station, Tennessee; Keshon Lee, 27, of Detroit, Michigan; Emani Mason, 25, of Detroit, Michigan; Gianna Ryan, 22, of New Castle, Pennsylvania; Payton English, 27, of Mooresburg, Tennessee; and Bernie Smallwood, 62, of Mooresburg, Tennessee.

The indictment charges all the defendants with a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846.  It additionally charges Jamal Witcher, Taeshawn Witcher, Steward, Coffey, Lee, Mason, and Ryan with possession with intent to distribute or distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).  The indictment charges Coffey with possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), possession of a firearm, including a firearm equipped with a silencer, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), and possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).  It also charges Jamal Witcher, Taeshawn Witcher, and Steward with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 924(c).  Jamal Witcher is charged with money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(3).  English and Smallwood are also charged with maintaining drug involved premises in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(2).

The indictment was unsealed after the last of the defendants appeared in court on September 25, 2024, before the Honorable Debra C. Poplin, United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville.  All have pleaded not guilty, and the trial has been set for November 19, 2024, before the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court at Knoxville.

Upon conviction, Jamal Witcher, Taeshawn Witcher, and Steward each faces a statutory mandatory minimum term of 15 years and up to life in prison and other penalties; Coffey faces a statutory mandatory minimum term of 40 years and up to life in prison and other penalties; Lee, Mason, Ryan, and Smallwood each faces a statutory mandatory minimum term of ten years and up to life in prison and other penalties; and English faces up to 20 years in prison and other penalties.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement.                        

This indictment is the result of an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the 4th Judicial District Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the 3rd Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Grainger County Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, the Knoxville Police Department, the White Pine Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigation. 

The case is a part of the 313 Initiative, a concerted and organized effort by numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to identify, target, and dismantle groups from the Detroit area that are bringing deadly drug combinations into Knox County and surrounding areas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook will represent the United States.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

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