GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On October 10, 2018 a federal grand jury in Greeneville returned a 76-count indictment against the following individuals for their roles in the distribution of methamphetamine (meth):

Juan Moreno Pantiga, 29, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Oscar Orozco-Blaco, 44, of Jefferson City, Tennessee;

Luis Rey Maldonado-Patino, 32, of Hamblen County, Tennessee;

Rainey Nichole Fields, 27, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Brycen Foster Nye, 32, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Cody Allen Arnold, 33, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Jeffery Allen Isley, 39, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Kenneth Dewayne McIntosh, 24, of Greeneville, Tennessee;

David Brock Church, 27, of Greeneville, Tennessee;

James Clayton Alan Broyles, 43, of Greeneville, Tennessee;

JD Edward Ealey, 48, of Greeneville, Tennessee;

Brian David Gray, 35, of Greeneville, Tennessee

Donya Lea Earley, 27, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Austin Edward Isley, 20, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Chelsea Brook Gray, 27, of Greeneville, Tennessee;

Randy Allen Brown, 52, of Greeneville, Tennessee

Makayla Nicole Isley, 21, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Harold Arthur Johnson, Jr., 48, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Kimberly Gaye Maples, 32, of Greeneville, Tennessee;

Caleb Blaine Davis, 27, of Hawkins County, Tennessee;

Jessee Dewayne Lowery, 32, of Greene County, Tennessee;

Dana Renee Nelson, 32, of Greene County, Tennessee.

The indictment was recently unsealed by the U.S. District Court and has not yet been set for trial.  The case will be heard by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, Senior U.S. District Judge.  

The indictment, on file with U.S. District Court, alleges that each of these individuals was involved in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of meth in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere.  Moreno-Pantiga, Maldanado-Patino, Fields, Arnold, Jeffrey Isley, McIntosh, Church, Broyles, Earley, Brian Gray, Austin Isley, Chelsea Gray, Makayla Isley, Johnson, Maples, and Davis were also each charged with at least one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.   The indictment also alleges other charges related to the distribution and possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances as well as money laundering. 

If convicted of the meth conspiracy charge, each faces a minimum mandatory term of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $10,000,000, any applicable forfeiture, and a $100 special assessment. Moreno-Pantiga, Maldanado-Patino, Fields, Arnold, Jeffrey Isley, McIntosh, Church, Broyles, Earley, Brian Gray, Austin Isley, Chelsea Gray, Makayla Isley, Johnson, Maples, and Davis face a minimum mandatory term of at least five years and up to life in prison for the firearms charges against them, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed, up to five years supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.                                                                  

The ongoing investigation leading to the indictment was the product of a partnership between Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Greeneville Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Washington  County Sheriff’s Department, Tusculum Police Department, Baileyton Police Department, Elizabethton Police Department, Third Judicial Drug Task Force, Fourth Judicial Drug Task Force, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, Tennessee Highway Patrol, United States Marshal Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Christian Lampe will represent the United States.  

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation is a result of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offics to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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