Friday, May 12, 2017

Leader of a Multi-State Heroin Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 300 Months in Prison



Omar Beasley and his co-conspirators trafficked heroin and other drugs to the Red Lake and White Earth Indian Reservations from Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis

Acting United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker today announced the sentencing of OMAR SHARIF BEASLEY, 39, for leading a multi-state heroin trafficking conspiracy. BEASLEY, who was charged along with 40 other co-defendants on May 20, 2015, pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment. The defendant was sentenced today before Chief Judge John R. Tunheim in United States District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.

"Omar Beasley led a drug trafficking organization that flooded the Red Lake and White Earth Indian Reservations with heroin and other deadly drugs," said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory Brooker. "I would like to thank the dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to shut down this organization and bring this dangerous drug trafficker to justice."

DEA Supervisory Special Agent Kent Bailey said: "This defendant is a career criminal who preyed on the citizens of Minnesota and the surrounding area with complete disregard for the community’s health and welfare. Our communities will be much safer with him behind bars for a long period of time."

Red Lake Police Department’s Public Safety Director William Brunelle said: "The successful cooperation and outstanding partnership of both tribal and federal agencies has clearly demonstrated a precise and orchestrated strike against drug dealers in Indian Country. Today’s sentence sends a strong message that tribal lands are no place to sell your drugs."

"Justice was served today," stated ATF Special Agent in Charge James Modzelewski. "Although we were able to remove one trafficker from the drug ring, we all need to remain vigilant. Others will likely follow. I am confident that with the strong partnerships we have built throughout this investigation anyone willing to put themselves in a similar position as Omar Beasley will see the same fate. I want to thank all of our partners for the tremendous job on this investigation. ATF is proud to be a part of this collective investigative effort."

Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Minneapolis Division Richard Thornton said: "The sentence handed down today reflects the seriousness of the major drug trafficking crimes committed by the defendant. Our communities are much safer when drug traffickers such as this are held accountable for the havoc they have caused and lives they have ruined. This case sends a strong message that together with our law enforcement partners we will arrest those who sell drugs for a living and argue for substantial prison terms."

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said: "Heroin and prescription opioids have a devastating effect on people in our communities and the loved ones of those afflicted with this addiction. Holding Mr. Beasley accountable for the harm he inflicted demonstrates that we will pursue anyone supplying these dangerous drugs in our state."

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, from April 2014 through April 2015, OMAR SHARIF BEASLEY led a drug trafficking conspiracy in which he recruited drug sources, managers, distributors, facilitators, couriers and drivers to bring heroin and other drugs to the Red Lake and White Earth Indian Reservations in Minnesota and Native American communities in North Dakota. BEASLEY would travel from Minneapolis, Minn. to Red Lake, Minn., White Earth, Minn., and to North Dakota to provide drugs to co-conspirators for distribution on the Indian Reservations. BEASLEY would then return to major cities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan to replenish the supply of drugs to bring into Indian Country. BEASLEY and his co-conspirators also maintained drug stash houses on the reservations and gave the proceeds of the drug sales to co-conspirators.

To date, 39 co-defendants have pleaded guilty for their respective roles in the conspiracy. One defendant remains at large:

    WILLIAM DAVID ALONZO, 25, was sentenced on March 2, 2017, to 120 months in prison and four years of supervised release on Counts 8 and 10 of the indictment.
    TRAVIS JAMES BAKER, 27, was sentenced on April 14, 2016, to time served and three years of supervised release on Count 2 of the indictment.
    ROSE LYNN BARRETT, 29, was sentenced on April 28, 2016, to 39 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    SONNIE MARIE BARRETT, 28, was sentenced on December 2, 2015, to 60 months in prison and four years of supervised release on Count 1 of a felony Information.
    CALVIN BEASLEY, 60, will be sentenced on June 29, 2017.
    TIMOTHY JOSEPH BEAULIEU, JR., 35, was sentenced on January 18, 2017, to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 8 of the indictment.
    WILLIE BELLAMY, JR., 69, will be sentenced on May 18, 2017.
    LAMARCUS ANTONIO BROCK, 39, was sentenced on January 18, 2017, to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of a felony Information.
    MICHAEL TRAVELL COLLINS, 40, will be sentenced on August 24, 2017.
    MICHAEL JOSEPH DOMINGUEZ, 31, was sentenced on April 14, 2016, to 72 months in prison and four years of supervised release on Count 1 of a felony Information.
    STACEY RAE DUCHAINE, 26, was sentenced on August 3, 2016, to time served and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    ERNESTINE DUKES, 46, was sentenced on May 10, 2016, to 60 months in prison and four years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    MICHAEL LENIOR DUKES, 49, was sentenced on February 24, 2017, to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    BRENDA ANN FAGAN, 69, will be sentenced on May 18, 2017.
    WILLIAM JAMES FASTHORSE, 27, was sentenced on May 8, 2017, to time served and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    APRIL MARIE GRAVES, 33, was sentenced on October 26, 2016, to 20 months in prison and four years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    STEPHEN MARTIN HOLLIS, 39, was sentenced on April 19, 2016, to 60 months in prison and four years of supervised release on Count 12 of the indictment.
    YALONZO RAMON HULL, 52, will be sentenced on June 29, 2017.
    DURIAL JOHN JACKSON, 31, was sentenced on December 16, 2016, to 12 months and 1 day in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    JUSTIN LEE JOHNSON, 26, was sentenced on December 14, 2016, to 65 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    VELVET ILENE JOHNSON, 46, was sentenced on August 23, 2016, to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    GENE MICHAEL KEEZER, 39, was sentenced on January 25, 2017, to 96 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of a felony Information.
    NAKOYA HARRIS KEEZER, 39, was sentenced on February 16, 2017, to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    RODNEY LEE KEEZER, 38, was sentenced on April 26, 2017, to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    JARVIS ALLEN KING, 25, was sentenced on December 16, 2016, to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    JODI LYNN KJOLBERG, 46, was sentenced on September 23, 2016, to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 4 of the indictment.
    YVETTE KOUAYARA, 55, was sentenced on March 2, 2017, to time served and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    JENNIFER LYNN OPPEGARD, 29, was sentenced on April 14, 2016, to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    JESSICA RAE OPPEGARD, 38, was sentenced on February 24, 2017, to a three year term of probation on Count 1 of a felony Information.
    LEE ALLEN OPPEGARD, 41, was sentenced on January 18, 2017, to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    BURNEY ABDULAH PEOPLES, 29, remains at large.
    CHRISTOPHER ERVING PEOPLES, 35, was sentenced on July 11, 2016, to 8 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    RAVONNA RAYE PEOPLES, 45, was sentenced on September 7, 2016, to time served and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    LUCAS JOHN PETERSON, 28, was sentenced on April 28, 2017, to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    DOERON EARL RAYFORD, 43, was sentenced on December 22, 2016, to 110 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    SHERRLENE ROSE ROBERTS, 69, was sentenced on January 19, 2017, to a two year term of probation on Count 1 of a felony Information.
    MAISIE ANN SARGENT, 27, was sentenced on August 26, 2016, to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    DALE ANDREW SIGANA, 34, was sentenced on July 5, 2016, to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    SARAH ELIZABETH THOMPSON, 32, was sentenced on December 22, 2016, to 110 months in prison and five years of supervised release on Count 1 of the indictment.
    ROBYN JOANNE WIPF, 35, was sentenced on April 27, 2017, to a three year term of probation on Count 1 of the indictment.

This case is the result of a cooperative investigation conducted by the Red Lake Police Department, the White Earth Police Department, the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, the FBI Safe Trails Task Force, the West Central Minnesota Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, assisted by the following law enforcement agencies and task forces, Becker County Sheriff’s Office, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, Bemidji Police Department, Bloomington Police Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office, Customs and Border Protection, Detroit Lakes Police Department, Frazee Police Department, Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office, Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Department of Correction, Minnesota State Highway Patrol, Lakes to River Drug Task Force, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force, and Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deidre Y. Aanstad and Melinda A. Williams.

Defendant Information:

OMAR SHARIF BEASLEY, 39

Anoka County Jail

Convicted:

    Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, Methamphetamine, Oxycodone, Hydromorphone, Hydrocodone, and Methadone, 1 count

Sentenced:

    300 months in prison
    10 years of supervised release

No comments: