30 Indicted in Meth Trafficking Bust

Several local residents are among 30 defendants indicted in “Operation: Monroe Doctrine.” The indictments followed a year-long investigation by multiple authorities of a meth trafficking ring in several South Georgia counties. The Laurens County Sheriff's Office along with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and attorneys with the Southern District of Georgia participated in the investigation and attended at a briefing in Dublin on Friday, July 16. The federal indictment in USA v. Monroe charges the 30 defendants with 56 felony counts. Their charges come after investigators identified a meth trafficking ring operating in Laurens, Telfair, and other area counties. Officials state the operation ran from at least January 2020 through January 2021. The federal indictment also includes forfeiture allegations for 77 firearms including a machine gun and four homemade silencers, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. If convicted, each defendant faces a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison. None of the defendants will receive parole because there's no parole in the federal system, Estes said.

The named defendants have started their initial appearance hearings. All are in custody. Area residents who were among those indicted are:

• Frederick Perry, Jr.,

34, of Vidalia, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Chris Horne, 31, of Vi dalia, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Cody Argo, 33, of

Glenwood, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Steven Larsen, 55, of

Glenwood, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Brooke Skipper, 48, of

Alamo, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility.

• Robin Eberling, 34,

of Soperton, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Distribution of Methamphetamine; Others indicted are: • David Alex Monroe,

32, currently in custody at the Laurens County Jail, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Possession of a Firearm by a User of Illegal Drugs; Illegal Possession of a Machine Gun; and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm; • Jorge Hernandez-Pe na, 45, of Atlanta, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; and seven counts of Use of Communication Facility, a charge that refers to the use of telephones to facilitate the conspiracy; • Fredi Ramirez-Garcia,

42, currently in custody in the Dekalb County Jail in Decatur, Ga., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; • Christopher Forbes,

31, of Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; five counts of Distribution of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm by a User of Illegal Drugs; Possession of an Unregistered Firearm; and eight counts of Use of Communication Facility; • David Kates, 45, cur rently incarcerated at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; • Carl Davis, 48, cur rently in custody in the Laurens County Jail, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; and Use of Communication Facility; • Wanda Phillips, 40, of

Adrian, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute 5 or More Grams of Methamphetamine; • Timothy Bracewell,

53, of Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Jordan Gooch, 35, cur rently in custody at the John F. Goode Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Jacksonville, Fla., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Erica Brown, 41, of

Jackson, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Rosario Cortez-

Locenzo, 37, of Atlanta, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and three counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Jeremi Kole Pullen,

36, of Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Joshua Killingsworth,

34, of Dexter, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Tommy King, 59, of

Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Gary Moore, 41, of

Cadwell, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; • Robert Anthony Jus tice, 38, of Chester, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Joshua Brown, 41, of

Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Joseph Grubbs, 45,

of Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and Use of Communication Facility; • Howard Johnson,

31, of Jacksonville, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; • Desaree MidyeGe,

27, of Jacksonville, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; • Alexis Weinhold, 23,

of Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Justin Hobbs, 27, of

Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; • Maranda Stroud, 28,

of Dublin, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility; and, • Brandie Grizzard,

35, of Rentz, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and two counts of Use of Communication Facility.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).

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 case is being investigated by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S.

Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Harper III, Joshua M. Pennington II, and OCDETF Coordinator Marcela C. Mateo.