Leader of Las Vegas to Columbus Marijuana Ring Sentenced

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adrian A. Douglas, 48, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 144 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Douglas led a Central Ohio marijuana trafficking ring that involved receiving UPS shipments of the drug from Las Vegas and mailing cash back to the supplier. He pleaded guilty to the two charges in June 2017.

Douglas’s son, Justin A. Douglas, 28, as well as Joshua N. Barron, 28, previously pleaded guilty to the same two charges. Justin Douglas was sentenced to 48 months in prison and Barron is scheduled for sentencing on January 30.

Raymond Tillman, 42, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and was sentenced to 60 months in prison. All three men are also Columbus residents.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs and other members of the Ohio Organized Crime Commission’s Central Ohio Drug Enforcement task force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael H Watson.

The Statement of Facts in this case details that between November 2015 and December 2016, investigators documented 264 packages sent via UPS from Las Vegas to Columbus. Those packages contained a total of more than 3,000 kilograms of marijuana.

Once co-conspirators distributed the marijuana in Central Ohio, they mailed cash back to the source of supply in Las Vegas. Investigators documented 41 packages shipped from Columbus to Las Vegas during the same timeframe.

For example, on December 7, 2016, an 18-pound package was shipped via UPS from Columbus to Las Vegas but was interdicted in Kentucky by law enforcement. The package contained more than $199,000 in cash.

On December 21, 2016, a series of search warrants were conducted at locations associated with the drug ring and turned up more than $331,000 in cash at Justin Douglas’s residence on Scioto Chase Blvd. An Additional $27,000 in cash was found at the residence of Adrian Douglas and more than $58,000 was seized from Raymond Tillman during a traffic stop.

All four defendants were indicted in February.

As part of the federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory and not binding on the court, both the offense level and the criminal history of the defendant were taken into account. There are six criminal history categories, with category six including the most significant past criminal conduct. Douglas’s criminal history was classified as a category five.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the IRS Criminal Investigation, DEA and Columbus Police, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Kevin W. Kelley, who is representing the United States in this case.

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