Three Sacramento men convicted for trafficking oxycodone in Juneau were sentenced to prison during hearings in U.S. District Court last week.
Richard Melvin Corum, 31, was ordered by Judge Timothy Burgess on Monday to serve 10 years in prison with 6 years of supervised release.
Deandre Tyron Dantzler, 34, was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 years in prison with 5 years of supervised release. He entered guilty pleas in July 2011.
Milan Caprice Thomas, 43, was sentenced on Tuesday to 8.75 years in prison with 3 years of supervised release. He entered guilty pleas in May 2012.
All three men were convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.
Thomas was also convicted of conspiracy to launder over a $1.5 million in drug proceeds.
Corum’s conviction at a jury trial in July 2013 included an additional charge of witness tampering for threatening witnesses and assaulting a person who was cooperating with law enforcement.
Prosecutors believed that the conspiracy to sell oxycodone in Juneau started as early as 2007. Thomas and Dantzler transported the drugs themselves by commercial air carrier before hiring couriers. Corum was a supplier that prosecutors said was brought into the conspiracy in 2011 and helped recruit couriers. According to court records, the three men were responsible for the sale and distribution of at least 15,000 oxycodone pills.
Judge Burgess emphasized the seriousness of the drug conspiracy because of the ‘human wreckage’ caused by the defendants’ distribution of a highly addictive narcotic.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Matthew Barnes said in a prepared statement that the success of the investigation was due to the ongoing partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement.
“This multimillion dollar enterprise submerged Juneau in a sea of addiction,” Barnes said.
