Final Defendant Sentenced in Longview Crack Cocaine Case
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 30, 2009 |
TYLER, TX—U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that the final defendant has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a Gregg County crack cocaine trafficking ring in the Eastern District of Texas.
RODERICK DEWAYNE TAYLOR, 37, pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2009, to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and was sentenced today to 188 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Taylor also agreed to the forfeiture of a gun, ammunition and a forfeiture judgment of $10,000.
According to information presented in court, since approximately January 2006, Taylor was part of a drug distribution ring dealing crack cocaine to others in and around the Longview, Texas area. An 87-count federal superseding indictment was returned on May 13, 2008, charging 29 individuals with federal drug and gun crimes. Taylor is the final defendant to be sentenced in this case.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the East Texas HIDTA Violent Crimes Task Force, the Gregg County C.O.D.E. Unit, the Gregg County Sheriff's Office, the Longview Police Department, the Gregg County District Attorney's Office, and the Kilgore Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard L. Moore.