Multiple accused in cocaine ring

TYLER – Two men from East Texas who were involved in a crack cocaine ring that operated in buildings close to neighborhood daycare centers and schools were given prison sentences. Quashunn Mitchell, 31, and Ronald Calloway, 60, both entered guilty pleas to drug-related charges. On July 14, Calloway pleaded guilty to manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance and was sentenced to ten years in prison. According to Smith County court records, Mitchell was sentenced to 20 years this Monday for possessing a controlled substance.

Records stated that all of Calloway’s organized crime charges were dropped, while Mitchell’s charges were also dropped. In the Tyler Police Department investigation aimed at dismantling a drug trafficking organization, Calloway and Mitchell are among a number of co-defendants accused. Investigators discovered that a large number of the participants in this operation are members of the 5-2 Hoover Crip gang. According to the arrest affidavit, elementary schools and daycare centers were within 1,000 feet of the drug-selling buildings. On May 7, Samatraus Forge, who was found to be the leader of a criminal organization with individuals serving as his drug salespeople, was given a life sentence after entering a guilty plea to three counts of organized crime.

After a jury trial, Charles Dewayne Miller was found guilty of organized crime and given a 30-year prison sentence. Following their guilty pleas, Derrish Graydon received a 20-year sentence and Jeffrey Padilla received a 25-year sentence. Tommy Spikes, Brittany Tuck, Jonathan Blackshire, and Kendrez Johnson are among the other alleged conspirators. According to arrest documents, the informant gave money to Forge or his employees on several occasions and received varying amounts of crack cocaine at residences in the Tyler area. At these residences, police discovered meth, crack cocaine, numerous firearms, scales, baggies, packaging materials, and a large amount of US currency.