Twelve Defendants Facing Federal Charges For Drug Trafficking

AGENTS SEIZE METHAMPHETAMINE, COCAINE, AND MULTIPLE OTHER DRUGS TWELVE INDIVIDUALS ARRESTED

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that his office secured arrest warrants for twelve separate defendants charged by criminal complaint with various drug trafficking crimes, including conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and other controlled substances in Calhoun County, Kalamazoo County, and elsewhere.

On the morning of December 11, 2019, over 100 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers executed arrest warrants and over a dozen search warrants in five different Michigan counties. Investigators seized cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, over a kilogram of methamphetamine (gross weight), over 50 pounds of processed marijuana and over 300 marijuana plants, and other controlled substances.  Investigators also seized three handguns and over $50,000.

Further details of the allegations may be found in the complaint and 132-page supporting affidavit, which U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent unsealed at the initial appearance of nine of the defendants on Wednesday, December 11, 2019. Three other defendants made their appearance on December 13, 2019.

The charges are the result of a multi-agency federal, state, and local investigation into the conspiracy conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Battle Creek Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), Emmett Township Police Department, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, St. Joseph Police Department, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office, and Michigan State Police.

The charges in the complaint, which carry varying maximum penalties, including up to life in prison for some of the defendants, are merely accusations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The following individuals were charged:

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