Michigan Man Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin in Kentucky
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 19, 2013 |
LEXINGTION, KY—A Michigan man who led a drug conspiracy that brought heroin into eastern Kentucky for distribution was convicted by a federal jury.
On Tuesday, a federal jury in Lexington convicted 32 year-old Douglas Martin of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, following an hour-and-a-half of deliberation and two days of trial. Martin was also convicted of witness tampering.
According to the evidence at trial, Martin conspired with others to obtain heroin in Detroit, Michigan, and bring it back for distribution in Madison, Fayette, and Bourbon Counties in Kentucky. The evidence established that, from June 2012 until March 2013, Martin conspired to distribute 2.7 ounces of heroin, which has a street value of approximately $15,000. It also established that Martin and others conspired to distribute cocaine and that Martin would live in an apartment in Richmond when he came to Kentucky.
The investigation started when officers with the Paris Police Department conducted a routine traffic stop of a vehicle, with Martin and his co-defendants, Andre Hawkins, Ameida Udousoro, and Jessica Cavezza inside. The officers subsequently located several thousand dollars, in cash, on the defendants.
Udousoro and Cavezza previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and Hawkins remains a fugitive.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Perrye Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI; Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner; and Kevin Sutton, Chief of the Paris Police Department, jointly announced the verdict.
The investigation was conducted by Kentucky State Police, FBI, and the Paris Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury represents the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this case.
Martin will be sentenced on March 19, 2014. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, for the drug conspiracy, and 20 years for the witness tampering offense. However, any sentence following conviction would come after the Court considers the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes governing the imposition of sentences.