United States Drug Enforcement Administration

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Indianapolis, and Zachary Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced Russell Silvers, 59, of Terre Haute, Indiana, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, on Sept. 15, 2020, Vigo County Sheriff’s Office Deputies observed Silvers sell 15.5 grams of methamphetamine to an individual for $550. On Nov. 17, 2021, Silvers was again observed selling 205.2 grams of pure methamphetamine in return for $3,260.

On Jan. 6, 2022, officers with the Vigo County Drug Task Force arrested Silvers while walking from a local restaurant to his parked Mustang. At the time, Silvers was on bond for two state cases, possession of methamphetamine and criminal recklessness, and had two other pending state cases involving dealing cocaine and methamphetamine.

Investigators located two plastic bags containing 896 grams of methamphetamine mixture inside the trunk of the Mustang. During an interview with investigators, Silvers admitted that he was getting methamphetamine from his source in South Bend once every few weeks and would not travel for less than three pounds at a time.

Over the course of the six months leading up to his arrest, Silvers obtained and distributed approximately 8.164 kilograms of methamphetamine to people in Vigo County.

“The people of Vigo County are safer today because of this prosecution. The defendant is responsible for dealing kilogram quantities of methamphetamine into our communities, impacting countless lives and fueling the epidemic of substance abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Myers. “This sentence demonstrates that major methamphetamine traffickers will face serious consequences in federal court. Our office is committed to partnering with outstanding federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the Wabash Valley to take dangerous drugs and dangerous criminals off our streets.”

"When local and federal law enforcement work together, serious criminals are taken off the streets. Russell Silvers was given more than one opportunity to change the direction of his life, but he continued to prey upon our community with his weapon of choice, methamphetamine," said Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt.  "We applaud the efforts of the Vigo County Drug Task Force and Sheriff's Office in putting together such a strong case against Mr. Silvers. And we appreciate the DEA agents, U.S. Attorney Myers, and his team for their efforts in removing another drug dealer from our streets."

The DEA, Wabash Valley Drug Task Force, and Vigo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. The Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program provided valuable assistance and resources to support this operation. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Hanlon. Judge Hanlon also ordered that Silvers be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay Karwoski who prosecuted this case.