United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Marshals arrested 16 people Tuesday as the result of a federal grand jury indictment returned Jan. 6, 2021, charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

For more than a year, the Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Jefferson County Municipal Enforcement Group, conducted an investigation targeting a drug trafficking organization responsible for the distribution of crystal methamphetamine in the St. Louis region with a network connected to Los Angeles, California.

According to the indictment, on June 18, 2020, investigators joined with the St. Charles County (Mo.) Regional Drug Task Force and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to execute search warrants at locations associated with Dedrick Jordan, Joseph Holliman and Brandon Thomas. Investigators seized more than $140,000 in cash, crystal methamphetamine and high-grade marijuana, as well as two assault rifles and four handguns. Another gun was seized from a secret compartment in a vehicle, which was stopped on its way to St. Louis, containing 28 pounds of methamphetamine with a purity level of more than 90 percent.

Four of the individuals indicted are from Los Angeles, with the remainder being based in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The defendants are:

• Brendon Darnell Thomas, 44, of St. Louis
• Joseph Robert Holliman, 46, of St. Louis
• Dedrick Deshon Jordan, 32, of Los Angeles
• Terry James Williams, 34, of Carson, California
• Clifford Dwight Davis, Jr., 40, of Los Angeles
• Maria D. Flores-Cervantes, 32, of Los Angeles
• Jacqueline Renee Harris, 39, of St. Charles
• Thomas William Fogle, 41, of Bonne Terre, Mo.
• Richard Leroy Clark, 61, of Farmington, Mo.
• Sarah Nicole Reynolds, 36, of DeSoto, Mo.
• Joseph Michael Suraud, 41, of Arnold, Mo.
• Alexandra Marni Chambers, 27, of Arnold, Mo.
• Deidre Denise Medcalf, 51, of Eureka, Mo.
• David Michael Nuelle, 34, of St. Louis
• Matthew Joseph Aubin, 43, of Imperial, Mo.
• Kevin John Karll, 66, of High Ridge, Mo.

Ebony Silinzy, 43, of St. Louis, was indicted separately for obtaining firearms on behalf of Holliman, who is a convicted felon and prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. Thomas and Holliman, who are previously convicted felons, were also charged with unlawful possession of firearms.

"It takes a collective effort with our DEA counterparts to identify and investigate members of these illegal drug trafficking organizations," noted Marissa Lee, DEA St. Louis Division Acting Assistant Agent in Charge. "As a result, this investigation yielded a successful outcome on the dismantlement of a major criminal enterprise."

The methamphetamine offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life, a fine of up to $10 million or both. The money laundering offense carries a maximum term of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000, consecutive to any other sentence imposed. The defendants charged with being felons in possession of a firearm face a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty.

The investigation involved the following law enforcement agencies: DEA, HSI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, St. Charles City and County Police, Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, Arnold Police Department and the Normandy Police Department, all in Missouri.