Belleville Man Sentenced For Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy, Possession Of A Firearm In Furtherance Of The Conspiracy, And Distribution Of Crack Cocaine

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on March 5, 2015, Martez Moore, 40, formerly of Belleville, Illinois, was sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine (Count 1), Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count 2), and Distribution of Cocaine Base in the Form Commonly Known as "Crack" (Counts 3 and 4), following his guilty plea to the charges on September 24, 2014. Moore was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison on Counts 1, 3 and 4, the sentences to run concurrently, and 60 months in prison on Count 2, the sentence to run consecutively to the sentence imposed on Count 1, for a total sentence of 211 months in prison. He was also ordered to serve 5 years’ supervised release following service of his term of imprisonment, and to pay a $400 special assessment. Moore has been in custody since his arrest on May 7, 2014.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) beginning in April 2013. An ATF special agent posed as a cocaine distributor for a Los Angeles based cocaine trafficking organization which was considering using the Metro East St. Louis area as a hub for distribution. The undercover ATF agent was first introduced to Martez Moore and later to Antwone Johnson, Dewayne Hill, Brian Matthews, Bryant Sawyer, Jaren

Jamison, and former East St. Louis police detective Orlando Ward. The undercover agent’s meetings with Moore culminated in Moore asking the undercover agent to broker the supply of 10 kilograms of cocaine from the Los Angeles organization. In return, Moore agreed to provide armed security for the anticipated delivery of 10 kilograms of cocaine and distributors for the cocaine. Moore recruited Johnson as a distributor, and Matthews, Sawyer and Jamison as armed security. Moore also recruited Dewayne Hill to protect him when he accepted delivery of the cocaine. Finally, Moore recruited Orlando Ward, a then detective with the East St. Louis Police Department, to provide police information and to help the conspiracy avoid law enforcement detection. Moore was the last to be sentenced in the case.

The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.