Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

SHERMAN, Texas – A Sherman, Texas, man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.

Anthony Wade Buford, 35, pleaded guilty on June 9, 2020, to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III.

According to information presented in court, in the summer of 2019, Grayson County law enforcement agencies began investigating reports that a drug trafficking group operating in the area was receiving narcotics from a supplier in McKinney, Texas.  On August 22, 2019, a deputy with the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle occupied by Buford and a search of the vehicle revealed 242.74 grams of pure methamphetamine and 13.1 grams of suspected black tar heroin. Officers were able to identify co-defendants Jeremy Wayne Helton, a resident of McKinney, as Buford’s source of supply. On August 28, 2019, task force investigators executed a search warrant at Helton’s residence, where they located co-defendant Kennen Depetris and seized 1.568 kilograms of pure methamphetamine, $12,000 cash; four handguns; 3.8 ounces of GHB, digital scales and assorted baggies for drug packaging, fake driver’s licenses; and a quantity of suspected heroin.

Investigators later identified co-defendant Benjamin Christopher Reyes, of Dallas, Texas, as Helton and Depetris’s source of supply. They immediately conducted a “buy-bust” operation on Reyes at Helton’s residence, where they seized an additional two kilograms of pure methamphetamine from him.  Further investigation led to the identification of the following additional members of the conspiracy, all of whom were indicted along with Reyes, Helton, Depetris and Buford, including:

• Mishay Gabriele McManigell of Sherman, Texas, who has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.
• Coty Allen Pipkin, of Sherman, Texas, who has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.
• Melysa Rae Sudderth, of Pottsboro, Texas, who has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.
• Stephen Keith Martin, of Sherman, Texas, who has pleaded guilty and was previously sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.
• Bridget Marie Dobrovolsky, of Durant, Oklahoma, who has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.

Two defendants, Reyes and Marlon Glenn Warren, II, of Denison, Texas have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Helton previously pleaded guilty and received 210 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy. Depetris is currently awaiting trial.

This case was investigated by the Sherman, Denison, and Bells, Texas Police Departments; the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office; the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA); and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew T. Johnson.

###