Armed Baldwin County Methamphetamine Dealers Sentenced to Prison
MOBILE, AL – Two Baldwin County men were sentenced in late October 2025 to serve 235 months and 60 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine and illegally possessing firearms as convicted felons.
According to court documents, Boniface Denton Buchanan, 56, and Samuel Earl Crook, Jr., 43, each of Bay Minette, admitted to distributing bulk amounts of methamphetamine to various individuals in north Baldwin County between May 2023 and November 2023. On multiple occasions, narcotics agents used confidential informants to purchase methamphetamine from Buchanan and Crook. Based on these controlled purchases of drugs and other evidence, agents obtained federal warrants to search Buchanan’s and Crook’s residences in Bay Minette.
On November 8, 2023, agents executed the search warrants. When agents encountered Buchanan at his home, he attempted to flee and agents had to wrestle him to the ground. Agents searched Buchanan’s house and found methamphetamine and a loaded shotgun. Buchanan admitted that he had multiple prior felony convictions that made his possession of the shotgun illegal under federal law. When agents tried to interview Buchanan, he responded, “I’ll do my time.”
Agents seized and searched Buchanan’s cell phone, which contained numerous text messages and other evidence regarding his drug trafficking.
That same day, agents searched Crook’s residence. Crook admitted to agents that he had methamphetamine, MDMA, and blue “Roxy” pills in his trailer, which agents recovered. Crook further admitted that he had sold several pounds of methamphetamine with Buchanan. While searching Crook’s trailer, agents found a 9mm pistol in his bedroom. In Crook’s truck, agents also found more than $33,000 in cash and a loaded shotgun. Crook admitted that the cash was drug proceeds. He also admitted that he had prior felony convictions and was not allowed to possess guns.
United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Buchanan and Crook to serve 235 months and 60 months in prison, respectively. In addition to the prison terms, Judge Moorer ordered Buchanan and Crook each to serve five-year terms of supervised release upon their release from prison, during which time they will be subject to drug testing and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Moorer ordered the defendants to pay a total of $400 in special assessments. The court also forfeited the defendants’ guns and cash to the United States.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Mobile comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and various state and local law enforcement partners, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/.
