Four Ruston residents sentenced for conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that four Ruston residents were sentenced Monday for their roles in a cocaine distribution ring operating in the Lincoln Parish area.

United States District Judge Robert G. James sentenced Ruston, La., residents Brodrick D. Spivey, 34, to 77 months in prison; Kimoni A. McMurray, 37, to 108 months in prison; Thaxter Reynolds, 25, to 46 months in prison; and Harold Jenkins, 59, to 41 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.  They were also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to evidence presented at the guilty pleas, the defendants conspired to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine or crack cocaine from June 2012 to July 2014 in the Lincoln Parish area. They were recorded buying cocaine and scheduling to convert cocaine to crack cocaine.

The fifth member of the conspiracy, Decarrious Jenkins, 27, of Ruston, was sentenced on November 30, 2015 to 77 months in prison and three years of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

The defendants were arrested as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation Pit Stop.  The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, ICE, ATF, Louisiana State Police, Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office, Ruston Police Department, Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, Natchitoches Police Department, Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bossier City Police Department, Shreveport Police Department, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, all participated in this OCDETF operation.  The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations,  coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources, and disrupting and dismantling of major drug trafficking organizations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cytheria D. Jernigan and James G. Cowles Jr. prosecuted the case.