22 Indicted After Phoenix-Area Takedown

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced today that the following individuals are in custody following the return of a 70-count indictment by a federal grand jury against 22 Arizonans, including:

Marcus Wayne Wesley, 35, of Phoenix, Arizona
Jesus Salazar, 24, of Avondale, Arizona
Philip Nathaneal Austin, 42, of Phoenix, Arizona
Alfred Wayne Wesley, 61, of Phoenix, Arizona
Lequisha Shantai Jack, 36, of Phoenix, Arizona
Rayvontae Virshon Hampton, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona
Edward Jewel Norwood, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona
Michael Dewanz Gibson, 26, of Florence, Arizona
Joshua Jordaun Jackson, 31, of Buckeye, Arizona
David Andrew Connelly, 59, of Phoenix, Arizona
Terry Lee King II, 40, of Phoenix, Arizona
Lancer Edward Williams Jr., 36, of Phoenix, Arizona
Tyrell Ann Gray, 53, of Phoenix, Arizona
Donald Eugene Reed, 60, of Phoenix, Arizona
Quincy Lamar Davis, 38, of  Phoenix, Arizona
Joseph Kizzee, 36, of Phoenix, Arizona
Christopher Duane Guy, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona
James Donald Estell, 41, of Phoenix, Arizona
Terry Lee King, Sr., 62, of Phoenix, Arizona
Christopher Marcus Mitchell, 35, of Goodyear, Arizona

Each of the above individuals was charged with either conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, or both. A number of the defendants are also charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

In addition Marcus Wesley, Hampton, Williams, Austin, Davis, Guy, Estell, and King Sr. are charged with being felons in possession of a firearm. Hampton, Wesley, and Gray face additional charges for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and Hampton faces additional charges for transferring or possessing a machinegun.

According to the criminal complaints filed last week, in January 2020, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) began an investigation targeting a drug and firearms supplier in South Phoenix. In February 2021, in conjunction with the DPS investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) Violent Street Gang Task Force began investigating the Lindo Park Crips (“LPC”), a criminal street gang operating in South Phoenix. The investigation targeted numerous LPC members and associates, as well as their drug suppliers.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers seized over 2,430 grams of cocaine, 35,000 counterfeit M30 pills suspected to contain fentanyl, 26 grams of methamphetamine, 4.5 grams of crack cocaine, 32 doses of MDMA, 8 Glock Conversion devices, and 17 firearms. In connection with the investigation, the FBI also executed over a dozen search warrants on June 23, 2022, leading to the additional seizure of ammunition, narcotics, and 62 firearms.

A conviction for conspiracy to distribute or possessing with intent to sell the amounts of cocaine charged carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine. A conviction for conspiracy to distribute or possessing with intent to sell the amounts of fentanyl charged in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $10,000,000 fine. A conviction for illegally possessing a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A conviction for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a mandatory penalty of 5 years imprisonment, and a conviction for transferring or possessing a machine gun carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

The FBI, Phoenix Police Department, and DPS led the investigation, with significant contributions from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Marshals Service. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.