Tulsa Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and Heroin

TULSA, Okla.— United States Attorney Trent Shores announced that Cherie Michelle Kelley, 36, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty in United States District Court, Tuesday, to participating in a methamphetamine and heroin distribution conspiracy and to possession of methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute.

From August 2017 to April 2018, Kelley conspired with Dannie Dill, 47, of Tulsa, along with others, to distribute illegal narcotics, including heroin and methamphetamine, in the greater Tulsa area. Dill was labeled by law enforcement as a “Top Ten” suspect of Operation Alpha, a Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative targeting northern Oklahoma’s most dangerous criminals.

As part of their scheme, Kelley and Dill stored narcotics and drug proceeds at two different houses where they lived together, one in Broken Arrow and one in Tulsa. Kelley would receive narcotics, including heroin, from her source of supply in Tulsa and use some of the heroin herself. Then she and Dill would resell the remainder of the narcotics. Kelley also agreed to allow her narcotics supply source to send illegal drug shipments for distribution from outside the state of Oklahoma to the Broken Arrow location. 

“Methamphetamine and heroin continue to plague neighborhoods in northeastern Oklahoma because of criminals like Kelley and Dill. Drug dealers should know that our community is not open for their business,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders in an effort to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. 

The initiative originally started in 2001 but was revitalized in October 2017 as a result of the rise in violent crime the two previous years. Project Safe Neighborhoods has been upgraded and enhanced with new technologies, better accountability, and stronger partnerships within communities.

Several law enforcement agencies were involved in a coordinated effort to bring Kelley and Dill into custody in connection with the crime, including the Tulsa Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel-lyn A. McCormick and Thomas E. Duncombe prosecuted the case.