Final Two Defendants Convicted In “Operation Yeti Ice”
JACKSON, Miss. - On Wednesday October 21, 2015, after a three day jury trial, Christopher Raynard Kidd, 27, of San Bernardino, California, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams of more of actual methamphetamine and distribution of 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, announced DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daniel Comeaux and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis. He will be sentenced by a judge on January 19, 2015 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fine on each count.
Another defendant in this case, Rodney Gerald Henderson, 70, of California and Mississippi, pleaded guilty on October 19, 2015, to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. He will be sentenced by a U.S. District Judge on January 7, 2016. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fine.
Kidd and Henderson were indicted on August 19, 2014. On that day, three separate indictments were unsealed charging 20 defendants. The indictments were the result of “Operation Yeti Ice”, an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task (OCDETF) investigation, which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in central Mississippi. The drug network involved the distribution of over 100 kilograms of methamphetamine and encompassed the states of California and Mississippi.
Operation Yeti Ice was an OCDETF operation led by the DEA and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Postal Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Leake County Sherriff’s Office, Madison County Sherriff’s Office, Carthage Police Department, Forest Police Department, Newton County Sherriff’s Office, Lauderdale County Sherriff’s Office, Decatur Police Department, Richland Police Department, Pearl Police Department, Ridgeland Police Department, and the Jackson Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk prosecuted the case.
Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.
