GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On October 7, 2019, Leonard Wayne Mullinax, 49, of Gaffney, South Carolina, was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 235 months in federal prison following convictions for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, launder money and possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking.

 

According to his plea agreement on file with the U.S. District Court, Mullinax was the out of state source of supply for this particular methamphetamine conspiracy operating in the Eastern District of Tennessee.  Following the indictment in this case, law enforcement officers searched  Mullinax’s residence and place of business in Gaffney, South Carolina and recovered an approximate kilogram of methamphetamine, 28 firearms, ammunition, a drug ledger, a vacuum sealer and other miscellaneous items of paraphernalia.  Mullinax stipulated that he was accountable for at least 4 but less 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and that he had been supplying co-defendant Edward Walters, 48, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee for about a year.  Edward Walters is currently pending sentencing.

 

Other defendants who have been previously sentenced in this methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy include Jamie Nicole Wilson, 42, of Gaffney, South Carolina, Jason Ronald Burchfield, 39, of Hawkins County, Tennessee, Matthew Glenn Russell, 27, of Rogersville, Tennessee, Amber Lynn Hall, 29, of Church Hill, Tennessee, Jimmy Lee Gray, 37, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee and Michael James Walters, 46, of Bristol, Tennessee, who were sentenced to 200 months, 149 months, 135 months, 135 months, 120 months and 120 months, in federal prison respectively.  

 

Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), United States Postal Inspector, Third District Judicial Drug Task Force, Cherokee County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshal Service.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.

 

This case was 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.                 

 

 

 

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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On June 12, 2018, a federal grand jury in Greeneville returned a 38-count indictment against the following individuals for their roles in the distribution of methamphetamine:

            Leonard Wayne Mullinax, 48, of Gaffney, South Carolina

            Jamie Nicole Wilson, 41, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee

            Edward Ray Walters, 47, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee

            Michael James Walters, 44, of Church Hill, Tennessee

            Corey Aaron Morelock, 29, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee

            Amber Lynn Hall, 29, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee

            Matthew Glenn Russell, 26, of Rogersville, Tennessee

            Christopher Lee Pyles, 43, of Rogersville, Tennessee

            Destiny Lashay Lawson, 25, of Rogersville, Tennessee

            Megan Rose Moore, 39, of Rogersville, Tennessee

            Matthew Jacob Keirsey, 23, of Rogersville, Tennessee

            Jason Ronald Burchfield, 39, of Rogersville, Tennessee

            Beverly Ann Brooks, 33, of Kingsport, Tennessee

            Jimmy Lee Gray, 35, of Kingsport, Tennessee

            Jacob Donald Meyers, 25, of Church Hill, Tennessee

            Jeannie Michelle Bowman, 45, of Surgoinsville, Tennessee

A trial date before the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, has not yet been set.

The indictment, on file with the U.S. District Court, alleges that each of these individuals was involved in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere.  Edward Walters, Morelock, Hall, Russell, Bowman, Wilson, Meyers, and Michael Walters are also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Edward Walters, Russell, and Bowman are each charged with an additional 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 methamphetamine as well as the unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering. 

If convicted of the methamphetamine conspiracy charge, each faces a minimum mandatory prison term of at least 10 years and up to life, at least five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $10,000,000, any applicable forfeiture, and a $100 special assessment. The punishment for the firearm charges returned against Edward Walters, Morelock, Hall, Russell, Bowman, Wilson, Meyers, and Michael Walters is a minimum mandatory term of at least five years and up to life in prison, 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.  Edward Walters, Russell, and Bowman, on the second firearms charge returned against them, face a minimum mandatory 25 years imprisonment up to life imprisonment, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term. 

The ongoing investigation leading to the indictment was the product of a partnership between the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, Hamblen County Sherriff’s Department, Jefferson County Sherriff’s Department, Third Judicial Drug Task Force, Cherokee County Sherriff’s Department, U.S. Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Postal Inspector, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Wayne Taylor will represent the United States in court proceedings.

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.

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