U.S. Attorney Announces Successful Prosecution Of Crack Cocaine Distribution Ring Operating Out Of Christian County, Kentucky

PADUCAH, Ky. – David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, today announced the sentencing of the fifth and final defendant charged in a 20 count federal grand jury indictment with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine in Christian County, Kentucky.

The five defendants are among more than 50 defendants charged federally since 2010, as a result of an ongoing and successful investigation and prosecution of persistent drug and violent crime offenders in the Hopkinsville, Ky., community. These arrests, by federal agents working with local law enforcement agencies, have removed crack cocaine and illegal firearms from the community.

“This is another tremendous example of what can be accomplished with a collaborative law enforcement strategy,” stated U.S. Attorney David J. Hale. “The federal partnership with the Hopkinsville Police Department, Christian County Sheriff’s Office and the Christian County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is getting results and contributing to a safer community.”

According to documents presented in court, the drug trafficking conspiracy operated for nearly three years from November 5, 2008 until August 25, 2011 in Christian County. Defendant Geremy Montriez Long, age 33, of Christian County, was sentenced in U. S. District Court, by Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell yesterday, to 63 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Long pleaded guilty on July 10, 2012, to all charges filed against him in the indictment including distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, hydrochloride cocaine, and marijuana, conspiracy, and to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

The following defendants were charged in this cocaine distribution ring and were sentenced by Senior Judge Russell: Antonio Detrex Ware, on November 7, 2012, to 70 months in prison; Herbert Lamonte Forte, on March 4, 2013, to 92 months in prison; Corey Terrell Sivils, on October 16, 2012, to 12 months; and Coleman Anthony Henderson, on November 7, 2012, to 46 months. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Larry Fentress and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from the Western Kentucky Gun Crime Task Force. The task force included investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Hopkinsville Police Department, and the Christian County Sheriff’s Department.