No Bond for Suspected Leader of Austin-Area Cocaine Distribution Network

United States Attorney Robert Pitman, FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez, and Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo announced today that a federal magistrate judge in Austin has denied bond to 34-year-old Vivid Kahey for his alleged leadership role in a large-scale Austin-area cocaine distribution operation. As a result, Kahey will remain in federal custody pending trial.

Kahey is one of 12 individuals arrested by federal and local law enforcement last week in connection with this ongoing investigation. In addition to Kahey, those arrested without incident include:

Raymond Smith, age 38, of Austin;
Rodney Ryan, age 33, of Austin;
Kevin Edwards, age 41, of Manor, Texas;
Kenyatta McClain, age 36, of Austin;
Luis Gonzalez, age 43, of Austin;
Noe Lopez, age 33, arrested in Austin;
Mario Gonzalez, age 40, of Austin;
Vicente Sanchez, age 34, of Cedar Creek, Texas;
Bianca Garza, age 24, of Austin;
Daniel Olmos, age 21, of Austin;
and Llasmin Orduno, age 24, of Austin.

Two co-defendants–Michael Bell, age 36, of Round Rock, Texas; and Tyson Carter, age 36, of Longview, Texas were already in custody on unrelated charges.

All 14 defendants are charged in a federal grand jury indictment returned last week with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Upon conviction, each defendant faces between 10 years to life in federal prison.

The indictment alleges that from May 2011 to the present, the defendants conspired to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine in Austin and central Texas. Testimony provided during detention hearings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Green in Austin yesterday revealed that during the time of the conspiracy, these defendants collectively were responsible for the distribution of an average of five kilograms of cocaine per week. In addition to detaining Kahey for being a danger to the community, Judge Green ordered that Sanchez and Smith both remain in federal custody pending trial.

This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Austin Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Round Rock Police Department, Killeen Police Department, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Guess and Elizabeth Cottingham are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.