Three Eureka residents have been arrested and charged in connection with a large-scale federal investigation out of the Macon, Ga. area. In total, 35 people nationwide were charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and money laundering in what federal investigators have dubbed “Operation Southern Postal Powder.”

The three local defendants — David Ray Fells, 33, Brandon Vitale, 24, and Shannon Miller, 22 — were arrested yesterday by the United States Marshals Service and arraigned this morning at the federal court in McKinleyville. From there the three were released on their own recognizance and ordered to appear in Macon on March 9.

The Eureka defendants are charged with only two of the seven counts listed in the federal grand jury indictment — conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering. In court this morning, Judge Nandor Vadas, teleconferencing in from San Francisco, noted that the former charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, with a maximum sentence of up to 40 years.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to provide much more detail about the operation. However, its name — as well as the press release below — suggests that it originated with the postal service. Previous federal court documents show that the United States Postal Inspection Service started investigating two of the suspects name in the current indictment — Thaddeus Bonds and Arteius Cotton, both of Georgia — in 2010.

Another of the defendants named in the current grand jury indictment — Traknovoise Simmons — was arrested last year with 23 pounds of marijuana, according to the Macon Telegraph.

Brandon Vitale, represented by local attorney Christina Allbright in court this morning, is a former Eureka High and Humboldt State University football player.

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Press release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Georgia, follows:

United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore, announced today that an indictment was returned by a grand jury sitting in the United States District Court in Macon, Georgia on February 11, 2015, which charged 35 defendants with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. During “Operation Southern Postal Powder”,

Federal agents, assisted by state and local law enforcement officers, investigated a large scale drug organization based in Macon, Georgia. Over the course of the investigation, federal agents seized large amounts of cocaine and marijuana.

Penalties for the charges range from ten years up to life in prison without parole. Fines range from $500,000 to 10 million dollars. United States Attorney Michael Moore stated: “This operation is the essence of law  enforcement collaboration and teamwork to remove illegal drugs and to punish those who violate Federal narcotics laws.”

“The Postal Inspection Service is committed to preventing the US Mail from being used as a conduit for narcotic trafficking. We could not be successful without the collaborative efforts of our local, State, and Federal partners,” stated Assistant Inspector in Charge Barney D. Morris.

Daniel R. Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division remarked that the indictment, “is a victory, not only for the multitude of law enforcement agencies who dismantled this organization, but for the citizens of Macon, Griffin and Atlanta, Georgia.” He further stated that “this effort would not have been successful without the mission-oriented cooperation between our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts.”

“We would like this operation to serve as a strong message to individuals throughout the region that we will not stand for the destruction that drugs and related criminal activity bring to our communities, stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation.   “We will do everything within our power to assist our law enforcement partners with financially disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations and stopping the violence and corruption they inflict upon society.”

A copy of the indictment is attached. The indictment is only an allegation of criminal conduct. Each person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and the Peach County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Calhoun and Sonja Profit are prosecuting the case for the Government.

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