Northern Kentucky Drug Conspirators Sentenced

COVINGTON, KY—The United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly announced today that a federal judge sentenced two men yesterday for a drug conspiracy that resulted in the distribution of nearly 1,000 grams of crack cocaine and heroin, combined, throughout Northern Kentucky.

Darryl Ross, 43, of Detroit, Mich. and Christopher Shields, 45, of Newport, Ky. were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves for Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine and Heroin.

Judge Reeves sentenced Ross to 180 months in prison with 10 years of supervised release and Shields to 133 months with five years of supervised release. Both will have to serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences before being released.

Ross and Shields admitted to conspiring with several other individuals to distribute the drugs primarily in Kenton and Campbell Counties The conspiracy involved the distribution of approximately 420 grams of crack cocaine and 560 grams of heroin in less than a five month period in 2008.

Both individuals held significant prior criminal records. Ross had been convicted of two prior drug trafficking charges and of voluntary manslaughter. Shields had been convicted of sodomy and enticement of a minor.

Ross and Shields were initially indicted in April of 2009, and pleaded guilty in July of 2009. Three other members of the conspiracy already entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced. Preston Bell received 152 months in prison, Kelly Henderson 70 months, and Marc Peeples 36 months. A sixth member of the conspiracy, Lazelle Maxwell, was convicted on September 23, 2009, after a six-day jury trial. Maxwell is scheduled for sentencing on January 11, 2010.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force and the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony J. Bracke and Alamdar Hamdani.