Seven individuals have now been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine and marijuana.
The defendants. including one from Gosport and another from Brazil, had previously been indicted on their charges in 2019 and 2020.
According to court documents, beginning approximately June 2019 and continuing through December 2019, the group conspired to traffic methamphetamine and marijuana in and around Muncie and Anderson. During the months long investigation, law enforcement discovered that large quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana were being shipped from California to various addresses in Muncie and Anderson. The group maintained residences in Muncie and Anderson to store, process, and distribute the drugs and drug proceeds.
Multiple members of the conspiracy possessed firearms to protect the organization’s drugs and money. After arriving in Indiana, the drugs were resold to others in Muncie, Anderson, Gosport, and Brazil.
To date in this investigation, authorities have seizedapproximately 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine as well as marijuana. In addition to drug seizures, authorities have seized over $15,000 in drug proceeds and seven firearms, including one AK-style, short barrel rifle.
To date, Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has sentenced the following individuals in this case:
|
Defendant |
Sentence |
|---|---|
|
James Briscoe, 39, Muncie, Indiana |
23 years in prison, 10 years supervised release |
|
Damarus Page, 40, Anderson, Indiana |
10 years in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
Bradley Clephane, 37, Gosport, Indiana |
262 months (over 21 years) in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
Christopher Bays, 36, Brazil, Indiana |
16.5 years in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
Jeremi Zarco, 31, Woodland Hills, California |
200 months (over 16 years) in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
James Bell, 43, Muncie, Indiana |
8 years in prison, 3 years supervised release |
|
Mikhail Mgebrov, 39, Tarzana, California |
10 years in prison, 5 years supervised release |
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case. The Muncie Police Department, the Anderson Police Department, the Terre Haute Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Indiana State Police provided assistance.
