Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

OXFORD – The final defendant in a multi-defendant drug-trafficking case has been

sentenced to 72 months in federal prison resulting from her role in a methamphetamine (ice) distribution conspiracy in the Northern District of Mississippi. Tammy Joanne Brooks of Ashland previously pled guilty to drug trafficking in U.S. District Court in April 2018. Chief Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced her in U.S. District Court in Oxford Wednesday morning.

Evidence revealed that the drug trafficking organization, of which Brooks was a part, was responsible for distributing hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico through Southern California to North Mississippi. The investigation, which was part of a collaborative effort between local, state and federal law enforcement partners, involved numerous search warrants and arrests and resulted in the seizure of firearms, drugs and property. In all, eight defendants were convicted in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi for their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy.

William C. Lamar, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, Joseph Frank,

Resident Agent in Charge of the Oxford Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Warner Benson, Resident Agent in Charge of the Oxford Office of the DEA, and Phillip Robertson, Major, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics made the announcement.

“Today’s sentencing marks the culmination of yet another successful, intelligence driven

and targeted multi-agency, federal, state and local investigation and prosecution of a significant, multi-national drug trafficking organization.” said U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar. “Working together, we are making our neighborhoods safe again.”

Below are the resulting sentences of the remaining co-conspirators who were previously

sentenced:

• Jackie Lee Brooks pleaded guilty in April of 2018 to one count of conspiracy to
• distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted
• felon and one count of conspiracy to commit interstate racketeering. Chief U.S.
• District Court Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced Brooks to a total of 240 months
• imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
• Nelvin Martinez-Duarte of Honduras pleaded guilty in April of 2018 to one count
• of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of illegal re-entry by an
• alien, and one count of conspiracy to commit interstate racketeering. Judge Aycock
• ordered Martinez-Duarte to serve a total of 175 months in custody.
• Rachel Nicole Johnson of Florence, Alabama pleaded guilty in April of 2018 to one
• count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Judge Aycock ordered
• Johnson to serve 84 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
• Stephanie Dyson of Booneville, Mississippi pleaded guilty in January of 2018 to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
• Judge Aycock sentenced Dyson to 66 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
• James Edward Orrell of Florence, Alabama pleaded guilty in August of 2017 to one
• count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Judge Aycock ordered Orrell
• to serve 30 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
• Bobby Fred Williamson of Florence, Alabama, pleaded guilty in September of 2017
• to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Judge Aycock ordered
• Williamson to serve 72 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised
• release.
• Johnathan Wilbanks, of Ashland, Mississippi pleaded guilty in April of 2018 to one
• count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Aycock ordered
• Wilbanks to serve 18 months in custody, followed by 3 years supervised release.

The charges and convictions were the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime

Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that provides supplemental funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The OCDETF program is a key component and partner of the Northern District of Mississippi’s Project Safe Neighborhood anti-violent crime initiative. Several agencies were crucial to this investigation, including the DEA, ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, North East Mississippi Narcotics Unit, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Tippah County Sheriff’s Office, Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office and the Mississippi National Guard Counter-Drug Unit.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad M. Doleac and Sam Wright.

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