Armed Marijuana Dealers Sentenced In Federal Court

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Tony and Tommy Nguyen, brothers who live in Mobile, were sentenced today in federal court for their participation in a marijuana distribution conspiracy. The brothers pled guilty to gun and drug charges in June of 2015.

Tony Nguyen, 24, pled guilty to being a prohibited person (drug user) in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Tommy Nguyen, 23, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in relation to and in furtherance of a drug trafficking felony. Court documents reflect that Tony Nguyen traveled to the United States post office on St. Joseph Street in Mobile to pick up a package that had been identified as suspicious. He was confronted at the post office by Mobile County sheriff’s deputies and consented to the deputies’ request to open the package. It contained five pounds of high-grade marijuana. The sheriff’s deputies obtained search warrants for two apartments leased in Tony Nguyen’s name, and discovered three guns, six boxes identical to the one in the package where the marijuana had been shipped, 191 plastic bags identical to the ones used to package individual pounds of marijuana in the shipments, eight more pounds of marijuana, scales, packaging materials and other paraphernalia used in the consumption and distribution of marijuana. A second package identical to the one picked up by Tony Nguyen was also intercepted by postal investigators, and it was also found to contain five additional pounds of the same type of marijuana. Tommy Nguyen claimed residence in one of the two apartments leased in Tony Nguyen’s name. The apartment where Tommy Nguyen lived was where the bulk of the packaging and distribution of the drugs took place. He was present there when the sheriff’s deputies arrived to pursue the investigation. A third conspirator, Nick Somphonphakdy, 19, of Bayou La Batre, was also present in that apartment with Tommy Nguyen and admitted that he lived there with Tommy. Somphonphakdy was sentenced in September of this year to 90 months imprisonment.

United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed a sentence of 21 months in Tony Nguyen’s cases, and ordered that that the sentences run concurrently. He did not impose a fine, but ordered that Tony Nguyen pay $100 in special mandatory assessments. Tony was ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release, which will commence when he is released from prison. As for Tommy Nguyen, Judge Steele imposed a sentence of 75 months imprisonment, consisting of 15 months on the drug charge consecutive to 60 months on the gun charge. Tommy was ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release, which will commence on his release from prison. He is also required to pay $200 in special mandatory assessments.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspectors and the Mobile county Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.