TYLER, Texas — The U.S. Attorney's Office has announced seven people have been arrested and indicted in connection with a multi-county drug trafficking case in East Texas.
The revelation came during a Tuesday morning press conference in Tyler involving the following law enforcement agencies:
- U.S. Attorney Joe Brown
- Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
- Texas Department of Public Safety
- Upshur County Sheriff's Office
- Upshur County District Attorney's Office
- Gilmer Police Department
- Gregg County Sheriff's Office
- Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement (CODE) Unit
According to U.S. Attorney Brown, beginning in 2017, a combined task force of federal, state and local law enforcement began a multi-agency investigation into the trafficking of methamphetamine in and around Upshur County.
"This case has taken a big bite out of the methamphetamine trade in this part of East Texas," Brown said.
Throughout the course of the investigation, law enforcement agencies conducted numerous audio and visually recorded controlled purchases of methamphetamine from suspects.
Upshur County Sheriff Larry Webb says the community played a vital role in the indictments against the defendants.
"These are people they know," Sheriff Webb said. "Some of the names on this are individuals that the community knows and knows the activity that they've been doing."
Furthermore, law enforcement officers and agents executed search that seized additional quantities of methamphetamine and firearms.
The operation resulted in the arrests of the following Gilmer residents:
- Roger Dale Hall, 53
- Denise Michelle Taylor, 35
- Christopher Dewayne Bunn, 43
- Shaun Dale Weeks, 43
- Jessie Darwin Ezell, 37
- Darrell Lynn Gage, Jr., 41
- Kenny Okeith Harris, 43
The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 13, 2018, and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
In addition, Weeks, Bunn and Harris are also charged with firearms offenses including felon in possession of a firearm and use, carrying and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Hall, Taylor, Bunn, Weeks, Ezell and Gage each have prior federal or state felony convictions relating to the possession and distribution of controlled substances, according to U.S. Attorney Brown.
If convicted, the defendants could each face from five to 40 years in federal prison.
NOTE: An indictment or arrest is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.