Pair of indictments charge conspiracies to use drones to deliver illegal drugs, contraband cell phones to Georgia prisons

STATESBORO, GA:  Two newly unsealed federal indictments charge 23 defendants in widespread conspiracies that used drones to deliver methamphetamine, marijuana, and cell phones to Georgia state prisons.

The indictments, USA v. Hall, et al, and USA v. Harris, et al, were unsealed in U.S. District Court, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

The primary charge in each indictment, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine, carries a statutory penalty of 10 years to life in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and at least five years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“These indictments identify networks of individuals determined to introduce into prisons controlled substances and other contraband that compromise the safety and security of individuals who are held in those facilities and those employed there, and further endanger members of the outside public,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “We’re grateful to the many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose cooperative work unraveled these criminal operations.”

Investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces by agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Georgia Department of Corrections Criminal Investigations and Intelligence divisions, with assistance from multiple local law enforcement agencies, Operation Night Drop identified two networks of prison inmates and outside conspirators who used drones and other methods to deliver large quantities of drugs, cell phones and other contraband to Smith State Prison in Glennville, Ga., Telfair State Prison in McRae-Helena, Ga., and various other Georgia state prisons. The indictments allege the conspiracies began as early as 2019 and continued through July 2024.

In addition to the conspiracy charges, multiple defendants are charged with Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility, and the indictment provides detailed information revealing the use of cell phones to coordinate the sale of drugs and other contraband, direct activities of conspirators outside the prisons, and arrange deliveries of contraband to the prisons using drones. Text messages and Facebook Messenger exchanges between the defendants included aerial images of prisons, drug quantities and prices, and photos of drones, drugs, and cell phones, and of materials and equipment used for packaging contraband.

The indictments include notices that the government seeks the forfeiture of a total of 10 drones and 21 firearms seized during the investigation.

The 15 defendants charged with conspiracy in USA v. Hall, et al., are:

• Alan Hall, a/k/a “Strong,” a/k/a “Krook,” 44, currently incarcerated at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Ga;
• Deivon Waller, a/k/a “Hitman,” a/k/a “VP,” 33, currently incarcerated at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Ga.;
• Travious Bateman, a/k/a “Nut,” 39, of Covington, Ga. Bateman was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections until March 7, 2022;
• Asa Ward, a/k/a “Foolay,” 28, currently incarcerated at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Ga.;
• Devonn Collins, a/k/a “Vonn,” 28, of Locust Grove, Ga. Collins was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections until Feb. 12, 2019, and again from Sept. 5, 2019 to April 14, 2020;
• Torlandus Fuller, a/k/a “Mustafa$upa,” 33, of Lithonia, Ga. Fuller was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections until Oct. 1, 2021;
• Martin Holmes, a/k/a “The Mayor,” 33, currently incarcerated at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Ga.;
• Raymond Razo, a/k/a “Flako,” 36, currently incarcerated at Telfair State Prison in McRae-Helena, Ga.;
• Anisha Usher, 38, of Covington, Ga.;
• Marquez Chandler, 25, of Conyers, Ga. Chandler was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections from Nov. 9, 2021 to June 2, 2023;
• Chad Henry, 26, of Conyers, Ga.;
• Katrina Hampton, 28, of Killeen, Texas;
• Jamar Hill, 37, of Tucker, Ga. Hill was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections until Feb. 3, 2020, and again from Dec. 15, 2020 to Jan. 6, 2022;
• Raane Onessimo, 29, of Powder Springs, Ga.; and,
• Donald Pate, 51, of Valdosta, Ga. Pate was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections from Jan. 3, 2019 to Jan. 6, 2021.

Seven of the eight defendants named in USA v. Harris, et al., are charged with conspiracy:

• Robert Harris, a/k/a “Messiah,” a/k/a “Dean,” 32, currently incarcerated at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Ga.;
• Kelvin Rogers, a/k/a “Gangsta,” 38, currently incarcerated at Smith State Prison in Glennville, Ga.;
• Quinton Samples, a/k/a “JR,” 29, of Atlanta. Samples was in the continuous custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections until March 10, 2022;
• Thomas Cothran, a/k/a “Shoota,” a/k/a “Tee,” 37, currently incarcerated at Ware State Prison in Waycross, Ga.;
• Quintaveous Samples, a/k/a “Peewee,” 26, of Jonesboro, Ga.;
• Quinesha Oliver, 27, of Jonesboro, Ga.; and,
• Tristahn Ash, a/k/a “Mohawk,” 27, currently incarcerated at the Metro Reentry Facility in Atlanta. Ash had been in custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections prior to the start of indictment, was released on Aug. 5, 2020, and reentered Department of Corrections custody on May 11, 2023.

The eighth defendant, David Williams, 35, of Atlanta, is charged along with Ash with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.

Of the 23 defendants in the two indictments, six were not in Department of Corrections custody at any time during the conspiracies, and each of them is alleged to have been in contact with incarcerated co-defendants in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Operation Night Drop was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgia Department of Corrections Criminal Investigations Division, the Georgia Department of Corrections Intelligence Division, and local law enforcement agencies including the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Telfair County Sheriff’s Office, Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, the McRae-Helena Police Department, and the Eufala, Ala., Police Department, and   is being prosecuted for the United States of America by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy P. Dean and Patricia G. Rhodes.