CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A drug investigation led by the Western District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) has resulted in the indictment of six members of a poly-drug trafficking organization (DTO), announced United States Attorney Dena J. King.
Brian Mein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
The indictment was returned on March 16, 2022, and was unsealed today after ATF and DEA agents and CMPD officers arrested five of the six men during an early morning round-up. The defendants named in the indictment are:
- Laricco Eugene Sherrill, Jr., 23, of Charlotte (arrested)
- Brian Clinton, 23, of Charlotte (arrested)
- Jakieran Harris, 22, of Charlotte (arrested)
- Sadarian Armstrong, 40, of Charlotte (arrested)
- Quentin Nathaniel Stowe, 27, of Charlotte (arrested)
- Marquez Maxwell, 22, of Charlotte (not arrested).
According to allegations contained in the indictment, beginning as early as January 2020, the DTO distributed fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana in Mecklenburg County and elsewhere. Over the course of the investigation law enforcement seized narcotics, firearms, ammunition, and over $63,650 in cash that is believed to be drug proceeds.
Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute narcotics and related drug offenses.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King credited the ATF and CMPD’s OCDETF investigation which led to the indictment and thanked the DEA for their invaluable assistance in effectuating the arrests. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.