DEA target found guilty of drug trafficking
PHOENIX - Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced the conviction of 63-year-old Alphonso Taylor for Conspiracy, Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, and Transportation of Marijuana for Sale.
DEA’s investigation into Taylor began in June 2013, when detectives and agents with the agency’s West Valley Task Force observed Taylor in a convenience store and overheard Taylor’s phone conversation about working with an outlaw motorcycle gang. During the investigation that followed, agents observed Taylor driving a semi-tractor and trailer and worked with troopers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety to conduct a traffic stop. After a search of the trailer, troopers discovered 13 duffel bags which held 25 bundles of marijuana inside the trailer. The total weight of the marijuana seized was 594 pounds.
State charges were formally filed against Taylor in 2013, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Taylor attended his trial in July, but failed to appear for the reading of the guilty verdict last week. He was quickly located and apprehended in the Detroit metro area by DEA agents from the Detroit Division and Detroit-area law enforcement. Taylor is currently awaiting extradition proceedings, where upon his return to Arizona, he will be sentenced.
This investigation was conducted jointly by DEA and Glendale Police Department, and supported by Peoria Police Department, Surprise Police Department, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Assistant Attorney General Nick Saccone prosecuted this case.
