A group of Anderson County residents was part of an alleged methamphetamine distribution ring that involved 44 people and a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in East Tennessee and elsewhere, federal officials said Monday.
A 30-count indictment was returned against the 44 people by a federal grand jury in Greeneville in East Tennessee on January 9. Among those indicted were nine residents of Clinton, Oliver Springs, Powell, and Rocky Top, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Eastern District of Tennessee on Monday. There were also four Knoxville residents indicted and a dozen in Bristol and Kingsport in upper East Tennessee, among other defendants in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia.
Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, Clinton Police Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, and Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force in Anderson County were among the agencies that helped with the investigation, the press release said.
Here are the people that were indicted in the alleged methamphetamine distribution conspiracy:
- Samuel William Aloisio, 40, of Greeneville, Tennessee
- Kenneth Lee Sholtz, 49, of Summerville, Georgia
- Rockcella Nicole Russell, 31, of Summerville, Georgia
- Troy Dale Sholtz, 54, of Rossville, Georgia
- Christal Gale Bean, 40 of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Leslie William Steelman, 47, of Oliver Springs, Tennessee
- Danielle Marie Coatney, 37, of Townsend, Tennessee
- Elizabeth Jean Patterson, 22, of Rocky Top, Tennessee
- Brandon Joseph Thorpe, 33, of Bristol, Tennessee
- David Henry Estep Jr., 38, of Church Hill, Tennessee
- Lisa Carol Weems, 49, of Morristown, Tennessee
- Timothy Millard Rose, 34, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Paul Joseph Whitt II, 54, of Honaker, Virginia
- Paul David Borror, 31, of Bristol, Tennessee
- Jason Abraham Clements, 42, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- David Dewolf Derrick, 43, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Kevin Scott Dingus, 37, of Glade Springs, Virginia
- Lawrence Powell Earhart II, 54 of Bluff City, Tennessee
- John Roosevelt Farner Jr., 40, of Piney Flats, Tennessee
- Adam Randall Fulbright, 31, of Bristol, Virginia
- Michael Ryan Goins, 26, of Church Hill, Tennessee
- Timothy Barry Hall, 38, of Saint Paul, Virginia
- Jason Darrell Larkins, 40, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Gary Allen Miller, 47, of Bristol, Tennessee
- Alexander Andrew Milne, 25, of Kingsport, Tennessee
- Charles William Mitchell, Jr., 34, of Bluff City, Tennessee
- Crystal Diane Pharis, 37, of Bristol, Tennessee
- Christopher Allen Reynolds, 36, of Bristol, Tennessee
- Rachel Elizabeth Sammons, 32, of Bristol, Tennessee
- Robert Jessee Estes, 47, of Rogersville, Tennessee
- Marketta Rae Jarnigan, 26, of Rogersville, Tennessee
- Scotty Ledon Foster, 49, of Lafayette, Georgia
- Cameron Lowry, 40, of Old Hickory, Tennessee
- David Alan Emery, 41, of Clinton, Tennessee
- Crystal Mcguire, 42 of Powell, Tennessee
- Larkin Henry Hensley, 41, of Clinton, Tennessee
- Lashawn Johnson, 34, of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Randall Wood, 39, of Clinton, Tennessee
- Stacy Jo Ferguson, 37 of Rocky Top, Tennessee
- David Dunlap, 47, of Oliver Springs, Tennessee
- Edward Uthe, 53, of Mascot, Tennessee
- Mitchell Chadwick Dorris, 30, of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Kristen Perkins, 44, of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Gerald Brummett, 39, of Clinton, Tennessee
A trial date before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Leon Jordan has not yet been set, the press release said.
The indictment, on file with the U.S. District Court, alleges that each of these individuals was involved in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere, the press release said.
Some were also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. They were Kenneth Lee Sholtz, Russell, Weems, Rose, Steelman, Patterson, Thorpe, Whitt, Borror, Derrick, Farner, Fulbright, Hall, Johnson, and Uthe, the press release said.
Patterson and Thorpe are each charged with an additional count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, the press release said.
The indictment also alleges other charges related to the distribution and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine as well as the unlawful possession firearms and money laundering.
If convicted of the methamphetamine conspiracy charge, each defendant faces a minimum mandatory prison term of at least 10 years and up to life, at least five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $10,000,000, any applicable forfeiture, and a $100 special assessment, the press release said.
The punishment for the firearm charges returned against Kenneth Sholtz, Russell, Weems, Rose, Steelman, Patterson, Thorpe, Whitt, Borror, Derrick, Farner, Fulbright, Hall, Johnson, and Uthe is a minimum mandatory term of at least five years and up to life in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed, up to five years supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment, the release said.
Patterson and Thorpe, on the second firearms charge returned against them, face a minimum mandatory 25 years in prison to life in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term, the press release said.
It said the ongoing investigation leading to the indictment was the product of a partnership between the Kingsport Police Department, Bristol Police Department, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, Second Judicial Drug Task Force, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, Soddy Daisy Police Department, Clinton Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Oliver Springs Police Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, Eighth Judicial District Crime Task Force, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, Bristol Virginia Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, U.S. Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Gregory Bowman and Robert M. Reeves will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the press release said.
The investigation is a result of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, the press release said. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply, the release said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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