Large-scale Bessemer Drug Trafficking Ring Indicted

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  – Two related indictments charging 19 defendants in a drug trafficking conspiracy based in Jefferson County have been unsealed, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.  

The following individuals were charged in the first indictment: Hakim Rashad James, also known as “Hop,” 48, of Birmingham, Ranisha Alliya Tolbert, also known as “Nisha,” 26, of Bessemer, Kelvin Dean Lewis, 48, of Bessemer, Walter Jamal Tate, 47, of Birmingham, James Edward Williams, Jr., also known as “Junior,” 42, of Bessemer, Dornita Corine Roberson, 33, of Brighton, Carveyon Tiean Jargee Glover, also known as “Black,” 27, of Bessemer, Sammy Anthony Bryant, Jr., also known as “Pooh,” 43, of Bessemer, Leniqua Tamarshay Wood, 31, of Midfield, Patra Shaneal Floyd, 29, of Birmingham, and Stayci Aieyanna Long, 22, of Brighton. 

These individuals were charged in the second indictment: Antonious Somuntez Sanders, also known as “Ant,” 45, of Bessemer, Zestra Cartasha Williams, also known as “Star,” 46, of Bessemer, Anthony Martez Harris, 39, of Birmingham, Luis Antonio Spano, 48, of Warrior, Geoffrey Lawson, 59, of Bessemer, Annenah Majeed, 48, of Bessemer, Tom Devonte Woods, 31, of Columbiana, and an unnamed defendant also known as “Roy,” 70, of Bessemer.

All 19 defendants were charged with conspiracy with the intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl between February 2025 and December 2025. The indictments also charge 15 of the defendants with at least one count of using a telephone to facilitate a drug-trafficking crime.

The FBI and DEA, along with local law enforcement agencies, have seized over 30 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl as part of this joint investigation. The indictments include special grand jury findings regarding the amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl attributable to various defendants as part of the drug-trafficking conspiracies:

• Sanders, Williams, and Majeed are charged with conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
• Sanders is also charged with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
• James is charged with conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, 40 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, and a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
• Harris, Spano, Lawson, and “Roy” are charged with conspiracy to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
• Woods is charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine.
• Tolbert, Tate, Williams, Jr., Roberson, Lewis, and Long are charged with conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
• Glover, Wood, and Floyd are charged with conspiracy to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
• Bryant, Jr. is charged with conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

The DEA and FBI investigated the cases along with the Bessemer Police Department, West Alabama Narcotics Task Force, Fairfield Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Vestavia Police Department,  Hoover Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Irondale Police Department and the Homewood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany T. Byrd and Carson R. Gilbert are prosecuting the cases.

This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The Alabama HSTF comprises agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the Internal Revenue Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.