Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
INDIANAPOLIS- 11 individuals have been sentenced for their roles in an armed drug trafficking ring responsible for trafficking hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills and over 15 kilograms of methamphetamine into Central Indiana. The individuals were sentenced as follows:
| Defendant |
Charge(s) |
Sentence |
|
Christopher Miller, 29,
Indianapolis
|
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments; Engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property |
26 years’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Jamie Sullivan, 22, Indianapolis |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments; Distribution of controlled substances; Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances |
24 years’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Tameico Johnson, 22, of Fishers, IN |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Distribution of controlled substance. |
20 years, 10 months’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Jayden Bertram, 22, Carmel, IN |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances |
20 years, 10 months’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Courtlin Moncrief, 29, Avon, IN |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances |
20 years’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Camonte Miller, 21, Indianapolis |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Possession with intent to distribute controlled substance. |
20 years’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Jordan Sumner, 22 |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances
Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
|
16 years, 8 months’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
|
Afrika Railynne Williams, 29,
Indianapolis
|
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments |
13 years, 4 months’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Monica Sumner, 20, Indianapolis |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances |
12.5 years’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
| Dewell Simpson, 18, Indianapolis |
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances; Possession of a machine gun |
11 years, 8 months’ imprisonment
5 years’ supervised release
|
|
Regina Weatherford, 60,
Indianapolis
|
Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. |
5 years’, 5 months’ imprisonment
4 years’ supervised release
|
According to court documents, Jaraughn Bertram led a drug trafficking organization in Central Indiana that trafficked significant quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from Arizona to the Indianapolis, Anderson, and Muncie areas. Bertram and Christopher Miller utilized multiple couriers to obtain the drugs from Joaquin Carranza in Arizona and fly them to Indianapolis, concealed in their checked baggage. Drugs were also shipped to Indiana using U.S. mail. The drugs were then distributed to the other defendants for storage, packaging, and selling to individuals. Multiple members of the organization possessed and used firearms, including weapons than had been converted into fully automatic firearms (a/k/a machineguns), to further their drug trafficking activities, despite previous felony convictions.
Machinegun conversion devices, sometimes called “Glock switches” or “auto-sears,” are devices that convert ordinary semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic machineguns. Machinegun conversion devices are themselves considered machineguns under federal law, even when not installed, and are illegal to possess or sell without a special license.
In addition to dealing controlled substances, Christopher Miller, Afrika Williams, and Jamie Sullivan also laundered the proceeds of the criminal organization using CashApp transactions, structured bank deposits and currency exchanges, and the purchase of vehicles.
While the case was being investigated, Jaraughn Bertram fled Indianapolis to Mexico. After federal charges were announced in June of 2023, Joaquin Carranza also fled to Mexico and remains a fugitive. Jaraughn Bertram was killed in September of 2024 in Mexico.
This case was part of a long-term investigation which resulted in multiple federal indictments. In total, the investigation recovered the following contraband and proceeds of the criminal activity:
- 128 firearms
- 61 machine gun conversion devices (MCDs)
- $722,626 currency
- 22 vehicles
- 118 pounds of methamphetamine
- 78 kilograms of fentanyl
- 501 pounds of marijuana
- 315 grams of cocaine
- 216 grams of heroin
“This was not just a drug bust- it was a takedown of a massive, highly organized criminal enterprise flooding Central Indiana with poison on an industrial scale,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Dozens of law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels worked tirelessly together, coordinating for years across jurisdictions to take down this operation. Thanks to their extraordinary partnership, these dangerous traffickers are behind bars, and our communities are safer.”
“This extraordinary investigation, made possible through the collaboration of numerous law enforcement partners, underscores our commitment to justice. We believe the sentences imposed on these violent offenders will have a lasting positive impact on the communities they targeted,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge, John Smerglia.
“The defendants profited by flooding our neighborhoods with deadly drugs, leaving devastation in their wake—shattered families, lost lives, and communities in crisis,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “Today’s sentences send a clear message: if you exploit our communities and profit from their pain, we will come for you. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will be unrelenting in hunting down these traffickers and driving them off our streets.”
“Drug traffickers don’t just flood communities with narcotics—they disguise their profits through complex laundering schemes,” said Jason Bushey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. “IRS-CI special agents used forensic accounting to expose how this network tried to wash its money clean. By seizing their drugs, firearms, and illegal assets, we’ve cut off both the poison and the profits. IRS-CI will continue working with our federal, state, and local partners to keep our neighborhoods safe.”
“US Postal Inspectors are dedicated to maintaining the sanctity of trust placed in the US Mail. We will aggressively pursue anyone who uses the US Mail to transport and distribute deadly drugs which impacts the safety of postal employees and postal customers,” said USPIS Detroit Division Acting Inspector in Charge Felicia George. “The Postal Inspection Service is proud to stand with our law enforcement partners in identifying, disrupting, and dismantling these drug tracking organizations which endanger our communities.”
“The Indiana State Police actively collaborates with various law enforcement partners at all levels (local, state, and federal) to combat criminal enterprises involved in illicit narcotics and firearms. This collaborative approach aims to enhance public safety by disrupting the flow of illegal drugs and firearms and bringing those involved in their trafficking to justice,” said Indiana State Police Captain, Ron Galaviz.
The following agencies investigated this case:
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation
- Federal Bureau of Investigation- Indianapolis
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- United States Marshals Service
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service
- Homeland Security Investigations
- The Indiana Crime Guns Task Force
- Indiana State Police
- Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
- Fishers Police Department
- Carmel Police Department
- Boone County Sheriff’s Department
- Zionsville Police Department
- Anderson Police Department
- Lawrence Police Department
- Muncie Police Department
- Fort Wayne Police Department
- Avon Police Department
The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle P. Brady and Kelsey L. Massa, who prosecuted this case.
This case was brought in conjunction with the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force (ICGTF). ICGTF is a partnership of law enforcement officers and analysts from several central Indiana law enforcement agencies in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan, Johnson, and Shelby counties. In cooperation with state, local, and federal partners, ICGTF collaborates to address violent crime through a comprehensive strategy including innovative approaches to locating suspects and evidence related to violent crimes and illegal possession of firearms.
This case was also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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