TYLER, Texas - U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown announced today that nine individuals have been arrested pursuant to a federal indictment charging them with drug and firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

                A federal grand jury returned the 42-count indictment on Jan. 15, 2020, charging the following individuals with being involved in a conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine in Smith, Cherokee, and Rusk counties:

                Alexa Leigh Brown, 50, of Tyler;

                Stanley Wayne Hunter, 43, of Troup, Texas;

                David Raymond Lusk, 41, of Jacksonville, Texas;

                Johnathan Rudy Duke, 30, of Recklaw, Texas;

                Anthony Russell Hamilton, 42, of Tyler;

                Donald Ray Carr, 55, of Tyler;

                Justin Ray Carr, 32, of Tyler;

                Joseph Paul Melancon, 46, of Henderson, Texas; and

                Tonya Hudson Hammonds, 46, of Troup.

                The indictment alleges that the arrested individuals conspired with others to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Texas, and that several of the defendants possessed firearms while being convicted felons and in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities.  The defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell on Jan. 22 and 24, 2020, to be arraigned on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, felon in possession of a firearm, and use, carrying, or possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Many of the charged offenses carry a statutory penalty range that includes life in prison.

                This case is the result of a nearly two-year joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Texas Department of Public Safety; Smith County Sheriff's Office, Tyler Police Department, Troup Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Jacksonville Police Department, Rusk County Sheriff's Office, Henderson Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.

                An indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.