Inmate who Orchestrated Two Separate Drug Conspiracies from Prison Sentenced

 A man who orchestrated two major drug conspiracies while he was an inmate at an Oklahoma Department of Corrections facility was sentenced today in federal court, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan sentenced Tymalk Quane Love, 31, to a total of 10 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant received five years for drug conspiracy and five years for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which will be served consecutively.

“Using contraband cell phones, Tymalk Love directed the trafficking of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl from behind prison walls. This lethal drug operation posed a continued threat in our communities but was shut down thanks to the work local, state and federal law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting Oklahomans and stands ready to prosecute any individual, living in our communities or behind bars, who directs the sale of illicit drugs in northern Oklahoma.”

In a written plea agreement, Love admitted that from January 2018 to February 2019, he conspired with Anthony Ward Irving, Casey Joe Eastwood, and others, including a Tulsa “Facilitator,” to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and an unknown quantity of heroin.

While incarcerated, the defendant organized the other members’ activities and coordinated shipments, payments, and the distribution of methamphetamine and heroin. Love did so using contraband cell phones.

Anthony Irving lived in Arizona at the time of the conspiracy and helped provide large quantities of drugs to be redistributed. Casey Eastwood lived in Arkansas and helped redistribute the drugs to end-users. Love coordinated with both men and further instructed a Tulsa Facilitator on when and where to obtain, pay for, and distribute the drugs.

Love also admitted that the Facilitator possessed a firearm to protect the methamphetamine and drug proceeds from possible theft, and that the Facilitator’s gun possession in furtherance of the drug trafficking operation was reasonably foreseeable to him.

Love further admitted that from January to February 2019, he conspired with the same Tulsa Facilitator to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Love again used contraband cell phones to communicate with the Facilitator from prison about when and in what manner pills laced with fentanyl and shipped from Mexico would be sent to the Facilitator’s house in Tulsa. The fentanyl pills, often referred to as “Mexican Oxys,” are illicitly manufactured in Mexico to look like prescription oxycodone tablets. Users frequently believe they are taking oxycodone or a comparable opioid, but the fentanyl laced pills, which are much stronger than oxycodone, often lead to overdose and death.

Love admitted that the proceeds from his drug conspiracies totaled $201,800.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Duncombe and Kevin C. Leitch prosecuted the case.