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Press Release

Tuscaloosa Men Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana through the U.S. Mail

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Alabama

BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced two Tuscaloosa men to prison for conspiring to distribute marijuana through the U.S. mail and bribing U.S. Postal Service employees to deliver the drug, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez and West Alabama Narcotics Squad Capt. Wayne Robertson.

U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced MANUEL JOHNSON Jr., 36, to nearly five years in prison for the drug conspiracy, plus three years in prison for violating federal probation, which he was on for a 2001 conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The judge ordered that those sentences be served consecutively, for a total sentence of seven years and 10 months. Johnson must serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Judge Coogler sentenced QUINCY TERRELL DOSS, also 36, to four years and three months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Both Johnson and Doss remain in custody.

“Employees of the U.S. Postal Service cannot be allowed to compromise our faith in the integrity of the U.S. mail,” Vance said. “My office is committed to prosecuting anyone who would attempt to bribe postal workers to help them carry out criminal deeds, as well as prosecuting corrupt postal workers.”

“This case is another example of the FBI’s commitment to addressing bribery and corruption at every level,” Stanton said. “I applaud the sentences handed down today and trust it will send a clear message to others who may be considering engaging in similar conduct.”

“The Postal Service is in the business of moving the U.S. mail. It has no interest in being an unwitting accomplice to anyone using the U.S. mail to distribute illegal drugs, and is committed to root out such conspiracies,” Gonzalez said.

“Our team is focused on stopping illegal drugs from coming onto Tuscaloosa County streets, whether those drugs come here by traditional means, or through mail and package services,” Robertson said. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to stem that flow.”

Both Johnson and Doss pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to bribe public officials. The two men recruited three Tuscaloosa postal employees to deliver drugs – Lenard Pompey, 39, a supervisor, and two mail carriers, Lyle Jones, 36, and Jocelin Latrice Betts, 28. All three postal employees pleaded guilty to the bribery and conspiracy to distribute marijuana charges. Pompey and Jones acknowledged that they accepted money from Doss to deliver packages containing marijuana. Betts acknowledged that she provided addresses where packages of marijuana could be delivered and that she accepted money from Johnson to retrieve the packages and take them to Johnson or to a man Johnson had introduced her to, who turned out to be an FBI informant.

According to court records, Johnson and Doss ran the conspiracy in Tuscaloosa County between August 2014 and July 30, 2015.

 The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and West Alabama Narcotics Squad investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Felton prosecuted.

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Updated November 9, 2016