United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Tyrone Anderson, 43, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to traffic at least 5,000 grams of cocaine and 280 grams of cocaine base and one count of conspiracy to traffic heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian C. Clark announced.

According to court documents, Anderson is among the 15 federal defendants arrested in 2021 and charged in a 45-count indictment for trafficking narcotics as part of a DEA-led multi-agency operation targeting cocaine and heroin traffickers in North Sacramento. Anderson was intercepted during wiretaps in 2018 and 2019 trafficking kilograms of cocaine and heroin and was arrested in possession of two firearms. 

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cameron L. Desmond and Aaron D. Pennekamp are prosecuting the case. 

Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley. Anderson faces at least 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

On March 16, 2023, Arlington Caine, 48, of Rio Linda, was sentenced to 22 months in prison on two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

On Dec. 8, 2022, Michael Hampton, 57, of Vallejo, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine.

On Nov. 17, 2022, Charles Carter, 36, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine. 

On Sept. 29, 2022, Jason Tolbert, 45, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

On Feb. 22, 2023, Dwight Haney, 52, of Sacramento pleaded guilty to two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Haney is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8, 2024. 

On Jan. 26, 2023, Jerome Adams, 56, of North Highlands, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Adams is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 18, 2024.

On Dec. 1, 2022, Bobby Conner, 51, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Conner is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 18, 2024.

On Nov. 17, 2022, Andre Hellams, 40, of North Highlands, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Hellams is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8, 2024. 

Charges are pending against the following defendants: Maurice Bryant, 51, of Antelope; Yovanny Ontiveros, 41, of Sacramento; Alex White, 61, of North Highlands; Steven Hampton, 61, of Sacramento; Wilmer Harden, 52, of Elk Grove; and Mark Martin, 62, of Sacramento. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. The Sacramento Strike Force is a co located model that enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.