Mexican drug cartel linked to drug raid in Bullitt County that put nearly 40 people behind bars | WDRB investigates

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WDRB) — Nearly 40 people, many of them from Louisville, were arrested recently after police seized 252 pounds of meth and 12 kilos of cocaine at a Bullitt County gas station.

The raid, which was touted as an infiltration of a “major drug organization,” was the latest result of a federal investigation into drug smuggling from Mexico across the border into Kentucky and Indiana.

“We see the networks operating primarily in the state of Kentucky,” said Erek Davodowich, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Louisville field office. “So we know that the two major cartels are responsible for transporting and shipping fentanyl, methamphetamine and all the other drugs that come in here.”

The DEA said drugs purchased in California are cheap, but once they make their way to Louisville, they become much more expensive. The reason for this is partly the risk involved in transporting the drugs, which is passed on to the buyer:

“The drugs may come here, but not all of them are necessarily destined for Louisville, Kentucky,” Davodowich said.

The DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Owensboro Police Department worked on the large Organized Crime and Drug and Enforcement Task Force investigation. Investigators said that between March 2023 and August 2024, agents received a tip that led them to a Love's gas station in Shepherdsville in Bullitt County, where two of the suspects met.

Investigators said Deandre Williams and Djuan Truss were observed removing large boxes from a semi-trailer and placing them in the back of a pickup truck. The boxes contained more than 252 pounds of crystal meth and 12 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $1 million.

According to investigators, the drugs were probably destined for western Kentucky and southern Indiana.

“Some of the challenges have been communication,” Davodowich said. “On many days, the trafficker uses encrypted communication methods, which makes it really difficult for us to intercept such communications.”

Investigators said Williams is the same man who was acquitted of murder charges in 2017. In a 2019 trial, jurors found Williams not guilty after a four-day trial. He was charged with shooting Robert Leachman in August 2017. He was killed in the 1200 block of Brashear Drive near South 13th Street in front of the Parkway Place Housing complex. It was the sixth homicide at the complex in 2017. Although he was charged with murder, Judge Sean Delahanty allowed Williams to remain on house arrest after finding that the warrant certificate did not contain details.

“American society has a fundamental presumption of innocence,” Delahanty said before acknowledging HIP. “He is presumed innocent. Even though he confessed to shooting him, there are defenses. Perhaps this death was in self-defense. I have no idea.”

A few days later, Williams was taken into police custody again and held on $100,000 bail.

Williams, Truss and 35 other people were put behind bars in the latest drug bust. 13 of the suspects are from Louisville.

Some were still on the run until recently.

“They actually arrested the last person here in Louisville by the United States Marshal Service, and that organization has basically been dismantled at this point,” Davodowich said.

Here is a list of the defendants named in the federal indictments:

• D'Andre Williams, 40, of Adelanto, California
• Elmondo Elliott, 55, of Los Angeles, California
• Desmond Knox, 50, of Menifree, California
• Bobby Douglas, 56, of Lexington, Kentucky
• Brandan Arnold, 42, of Louisville
• Antonio Arnold, 44, of Louisville
• Dwayne Evans, 35, of Louisville
• Antionio Evans, 42, of Louisville
• Tanaja Lee, 23, of Louisville
• Davonte Hoskins, 28, of Louisville
• Jason Salyer, 50, of Louisville
• Rayshawn Spearman Sr., 39, of Louisville
• Rayshawn Spearman Jr., 26, of Louisville
• Melanie Surrell, 45, of Louisville
• Djuan Truss, 42, of Louisville
• Gardner Webb, 31, of Louisville
• Deandre Williams, 27, of Louisville
• Richard Boarman, 48, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Joshua Estap, 40, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Jonathan Hawkins, 43, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Jeramey Hawkins, 46, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Cameron Jackson, 24, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Damone McGuire, 29, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Timothy Roach, 37, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Diana Miranda, 38, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Gregory Nuckols, 61, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Julia Parrish, 53, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Justin Riley, 41, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Timothy Roberts, 46, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Shalonna Slaughters, 57, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Joe Turner, 46, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Tyler Vinson, 32, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Jamie Voyles, 44, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Hope Warsinsky, 39, of Owensboro, Kentucky
• Zachariah Nance, 44, of Utica, Kentucky
• Charles Nelson, 41, of Utica, Kentucky

Davodowich said agents also seized more than $250,000, dozens of weapons and 11 vehicles.

If convicted, all defendants except Jackson face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Jackson faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. All defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district judge will determine the sentence after considering sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.

“They were not part of any gang that we know of,” Davodowich said. “They were linked to the Jalisco New Generation cartel.”

At a press conference in April, Alamdar S. Hamdani, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, described the cartel as “one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal groups in Mexico, whose business model is based on extreme violence and trafficking in the deadliest substances.”

Davodowich said the raid in the Louisville area earlier this year will change the way the cartel operates.

“The cartel is still active in Mexico, but in addition to the organization in South Los Angeles, it is also shutting down its network in our two states,” he said.

Davodowich said there is no particular area in Louisville where crime is more prevalent than another, but that members of the cartels regularly visit the area and monitor transactions.

“We are out there every day doing the best job we can,” he said.

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.