Twelve charged in alleged methamphetamine conspiracy

MACON – A newly unsealed federal indictment charges a dozen defendants with allegedly participating in a methamphetamine production and trafficking conspiracy operating out of a 10-acre Walton County property.

According to the indictment and an accompanying search warrant, as well as statements made public in court, a federal search warrant was executed at 2370 Mountain Creek Church Road in Monroe as part of a joint law enforcement operation during which agents seized a total of 4,346 grams of “finished” crystal methamphetamine, 22 gallons of liquid methamphetamine (approximately equivalent to 377 kilograms of finished crystal methamphetamine) and $5,401.

A federal search warrant was also executed on a Chevrolet Traverse occupied by Yuretzi Gomez, Yirla Gomez, Rafael Gomez and Uriel Garcia in which agents recovered 1,046 grams of methamphetamine and $4,350 in cash. In addition, agents seized 4,523 grams of methamphetamine inside a Camaro occupied by Jared Calhoun and Ebony Jones-Tate.

The following defendant charged by indictment will have his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles H. Weigle on Nov. 4:

James Len Ramey, 52, of Comer is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine.

The following defendants charged by indictment have had their initial appearances before Weigle:

— Christopher Hyatt, 44, of LaGrange is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Kendell Cawthon, 59, of Baldwin is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Bonterris Turner, 44, of Athens is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Demetrius Appling, 36, of Crawford is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Andrea Robinson, 44, of Cleveland, Ga., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine;

— Yuretzi Adame Gomez, 39, of Mexico, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Yirla Adame Gomez, 24, of Mexico, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Rafael Gomez Flores, 21, of Mexico, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Uriel Garcia, 32, of Mexico, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

— Jared Calhoun, 32, of Birmingham, Ala., is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine;

Ebony Jones-Tate, 32, of Birmingham, Ala., is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Georgia State Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the case for the government.

Special Illustration: Metro Creative