Leadership of Local OKC Street Gang and Affiliates Convicted of Operating Million Dollar Crack Cocaine Distribution Ring

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma –  Last Thursday, a federal jury convicted Daryl Lee Ingram, Michael Eugene Banks, and Michael Shandelon Brown, all from Oklahoma City, of conspiring to distribute cocaine base (crack) in a million-dollar drug distribution ring, announced Mark A. Yancey, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  In addition, all three were found guilty of conspiring to launder the proceeds of that drug-distribution ring.  

The trial was a culmination of a long-term investigation into the senior leadership of a local street gang in Oklahoma City.  According to evidence presented at trial and court records, Ingram and Banks were both high-ranking gang members and large-scale cocaine base distributors in Oklahoma City.  Evidence showed that these two were assisted by a number of other individuals in the gang or affiliates, including Brown.  As part of these conspiracies, Ingram, Banks, and Brown also involved family members and friends to hide the profits from illegal drug sales.  Typical of the conspiracy, co-conspirators would purchase blank $1,000 money orders and mail them to California, where they were cashed by other co-conspirators for the benefit of the conspiracy.  The drugs and money recovered during the investigation, as well as the money accounted for in seized drug ledgers, revealed that this group was responsible for distributing cocaine base with a street value well in excess of one million dollars.

Ten people have been charged and convicted as a result of this investigation.  All pled guilty to offenses identified below, except for Ingram, Banks and Brown who went to trial.  The trial lasted approximately 11 days.  The jury deliberated approximately 5 hours before finding the three men guilty. 

All defendants are awaiting sentencing.  Both Ingram and Banks face mandatory life sentences as a result of their conviction.  The following summarizes the charges associated with each of the defendants and the potential sentence they face:

These convictions were the result of a joint investigation between the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David McCrary, Kate Holey, and Virginia L. Hines.