Twenty-four indicted in second cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more

Note: This story was last updated at 10:08 p.m.

Twenty-four people, most of them Oak Ridge residents, have been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury in a second alleged cocaine conspiracy of 300 grams or more. That makes a total of 33 people who have been indicted in two separate conspiracies to allegedly manufacture, distribute, and sell 300 grams or more of cocaine last year.

There are other charges that apply to some of the suspects as well.

The indictments allege that the two conspiracies, one involving 11 people and the other involving 24, both occurred between May 14 and December 23, 2015. The indictments are being posted by the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk following a drug suspect roundup that started Thursday and continued into Saturday in Oak Ridge. It’s not clear yet if other communities were involved, or if authorities have alleged additional conspiracies. Also, all the charges against all the defendants don’t appear to be posted yet.

Two of the defendants are named in both conspiracies.

Authorities have said little about the case so far. But they plan to release more information about what they have described as a complex, multi-county criminal investigation during a Monday afternoon press conference in the Clinton office of Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. Authorities have said parts of the investigation were unprecedented. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are expected to report on the investigation during the Monday afternoon press conference.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported on the alleged 11-person cocaine conspiracy.

Twenty-one of those named in the 24-person conspiracy in indictments filed in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court on May 3, 2016, are:

• Jermichael Jermaine Howard, 39, West Malta Road, Oak Ridge;
• James Fernando Mitchell, 45, South Dillard Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Edward Javard Mitchell, 38, South Dillard Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Shannon Dewayne Porter, 38, Houston Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Jasmine Desreka Crowley, 29, Wakefield Road, Oak Ridge;
• Christopher Shane Black, 28, West Pasadena Lane, Oak Ridge;
• Julia Kaylee Hatcher, 31, Spelman Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Marvel Lynette Carpenter, 45, East Bryn Mawr Circle, Oak Ridge;
• Joe William Howard, 61, Greenwood Street, Kingston;
• Bianca Nicole Taylor, 28, Houston Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Tyler Earl Gulley, 22, South Benedict Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• William Ralph Sanders Jr., South Benedict Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Deonte Quinvess Bates, 20, Teller Village Lane, Oak Ridge;
• Torey Deandre Yancy, 38, West Vanderbilt Drive, Oak Ridge;
• Patrick Wayne Crowley, 42, Houston Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Christopher Lejuane Wooden, 34, Waltham Lane, Oak Ridge;
• Jermaine Teryl Stovall, 36, Povo Road, Madisonville, Tennessee;
• Jerri Lynn Mitchell, 55, West Pasadena Lane, Oak Ridge;
• Malain Fanondo Mitchell, 20, Spelman Avenue, Oak Ridge;
• Bryan Andrew Sellers, 23, Hillside Road, Oak Ridge; and
• Donnie Lynell Staples, 49, Oak Ridge.

They are facing Class A felony charges of:

• conspiracy to manufacture 300 grams or more of cocaine,
• conspiracy to distribute 300 grams or more of cocaine,
• conspiracy to sell 300 grams or more of cocaine,
• conspiracy to possess with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell 300 grams or more of cocaine,
• conspiracy to manufacture more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone,
• conspiracy to distribute more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone,
• conspiracy to sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone, and
• conspiracy to possess with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone.

Those charges were also levied against the 11 defendants in the other conspiracy. Black and Sanders were also both named in that 11-person conspiracy.

Three of those indicted in the 24-person conspiracy have not yet been arrested.

A Clinton man, Jason Alan Watson, 40, of Gibbs Lane, is not named in either the 11-person or 24-person conspiracy, but he is named in a two-person conspiracy with Edward Mitchell to sell less than 0.5 grams of cocaine in a school zone, a Class C felony, after allegedly buying cocaine from Mitchell in July 2015.

In addition to his charges in the alleged 24-person conspiracy, Edward Mitchell is also facing charges of:

• nine counts of selling more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone, a Class A felony, on nine dates in May, June, July, August, and September 2015;
• possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver more than 0.5 grams of cocaine in a school zone in December 2015, a Class A felony;
• one count of selling less than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone, a Class B felony, in July 2015;
• conspiracy to sell less than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone between June 22 and September 17, 2015, a Class C felony, for allegedly selling cocaine to Watson;
• tampering with evidence in December 2015, a Class C felony;
• possession with intent to deliver or sell more than 14.175 grams of marijuana in a school zone in December 2015, a Class D felony; and
• possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor.

That’s a total of 23 charges for Mitchell.

Besides the conspiracy charges, Porter is also facing charges of possession with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone in November 2015, a Class A felony; two counts of possession with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine, a Class B felony, in October and December 2015; and possession of drug paraphernalia in December 2015, a Class A misdemeanor.

Patrick Crowley has three additional charges of possession with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone, a Class A felony, on three dates in August 2015. Hatcher has one of those charges from that same month.

Yancy is also facing two additional counts of possession with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine, a Class B felony, on two dates in December 2015; and two Class A misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both in December 2015.

Other Class B felony charges have been levied against:

• Staples—three counts of possessing less than 0.5 gram of cocaine in a school zone in May, June, and September 2015, with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell it.
• Bates—two counts of possession with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in June and September 2015.
• Jasmine Crowley—one count for the alleged sale of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine in May 2015.
• Sellers—one count of possessing with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 grams of cocaine in 2015.
• Wooden—one count of possession with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell more than 0.5 gram of cocaine in July 2015.

Carpenter and Joe Howard have additional Class A misdemeanor counts of simple possession of cocaine last year. Carpenter has two counts, and Howard has one.

All of the charges above are for alleged offenses.

As of Saturday evening, there were 28 arrests showing in Anderson County jail records on charges related to manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing a controlled substance. Most of the arrests appeared to be by the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County) Crime Task Force. Other agencies that helped the CTF last week included the Oak Ridge Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Clinton Police Department, and Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office.

Many of the defendants in the alleged conspiracies have arraignments scheduled for May 23. It’s not clear yet if they will all be arraigned that day.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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