Thirteen In Custody On Federal Cocaine Charges In Tennessee And Alabama

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A total of 13 people from Eastern Tennessee, and Huntsville, Ala., have been arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). All are believed to be part of in a large cocaine trafficking organization out of Fayetteville, Tenn., in Lincoln County.

Calvin Fontaine Hadley, 36, of Fayetteville, Tenn., was arrested in May 2013. On June 17, 2013, 10 additional individuals were arrested in Fayetteville, Tenn. They appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee on June 18, 2013, for initial appearances and arraignments. Those individuals include: Deonzsanique Bryson, 23, Darryl Brown, 51, Tanica Berry, 31, Dominique Brooks, 25, Tony Brown, 22, Ophelia Harper, 61, Jermaine Hicks, 27, Willie Hockett, 25, Jeffery Mires, 36, and Doris Stewart, 57, all from Fayetteville, Tenn.

Two more individuals, Ortegus McCrary, 36, and Terrance Nance, 57, of Huntsville, Ala., were arrested in Huntsville and appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Alabama, on June 17, 2013. Detention hearings have been set for both on June 20, 2013, in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama.

Others are pending arrest on federal charges. Their names and other pertinent information will be released upon their initial appearance before the U.S. Magistrate Judge.

A jury trial for all of these individuals is scheduled for August 27, 2013, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee, before Honorable Harry S. Mattice, U.S. District Court Judge.

All were charged by a federal grand jury sitting in Chattanooga, Tenn., with conspiring to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 280 grams of cocaine base (crack). If convicted of this offense, each faces a minimum of 10 years and maximum of life in prison. Some face additional counts relating to money laundering and cocaine distribution.

This case has been investigated by the DEA, Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. Agents and officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Homeland Security, Investigations Division, 17th Judicial District Drug Task Force, Fayetteville Police Department and Sheriff’s Departments for Franklin, Giles, and Marshal County, Tenn., and Madison County, Ga., have assisted with the investigation and arrests. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Bay is representing the United States in court.

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