United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DALLAS, TX — Nineteen individuals have been federally charged in a weeping 24-count indictment that alleges their involvement in a years‑long drug trafficking operation responsible for distributing cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana throughout the Dallas area. 

“As this investigation unfolded, the DEA and our law enforcement partners identified a highly organized, poly-drug distribution organization, feeding our streets with cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, and fentanyl,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Joseph B. Tucker. “Working alongside our Homeland Security Task Force partners, the DEA Dallas Division dismantled this network and remains fiercely committed to removing these poison peddlers and violent organizations from our communities to ensure our neighborhoods and parks are safe for our children.” 

“Today’s charges against 19 North Texas drug dealers reflect the unwavering commitment of the Homeland Security Task Force to protect our communities from violent criminal networks,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “Through HSTF’s unprecedented interagency collaboration, we are able to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating near locations and public spaces where families and community members should feel safe. My office will use every tool available to hold drug traffickers accountable and to safeguard the people of North Texas.

This investigation reflects what is possible when local and federal law enforcement agencies work together with a shared commitment to protecting our communities,” said Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux. “Our officers and investigators worked alongside our federal partners over an extended period to identify and disrupt an alleged drug trafficking network operating in Dallas neighborhoods. We will continue working with our partners to hold those who bring drugs, guns and violence into our communities accountable and to keep Dallas safe.” 

“This investigation highlights the mission of the HSTF, which includes targeting transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “We will continue our collaboration through the Dallas HSTF to produce real, impactful outcomes for the safety of our communities.”

"Task force cases make our communities safer. In this case, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents helped uncover alleged money laundering activities involving drug proceeds tied to drug houses near where our children learn and play,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of IRS-CI’s Texas Field Office. “HSTF is designed to bring together the expertise of its members, and IRS-CI contributes to the team by focusing on tracing the illicit funds."

According to the indictment, the charges stem from a long‑term investigation into convicted federal drug trafficker Avery Wayne Davis, identified as a leader in the organization alongside Sterling Lawrence Taylor. Working with cultivated sources and historical investigative intelligence, Dallas Police Department officers and FBI, DEA, and IRS-CI special agents uncovered multiple narcotics distribution networks, four wire targets and numerous drug houses operating across Dallas, many of which are located adjacent to schools, Boys and Girls Clubs and public parks.

Agents seized cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, multiple firearms—including a .50‑caliber Desert Eagle, Glock Model 33, Taurus pistols and other weapons—and more than $40,000 in drug‑related proceeds, along with additional currency and jewelry totaling more than $500,000. 

The indictment charges a wide range of criminal conduct, including drug‑trafficking conspiracies, money laundering, firearms offenses, drug house operations and unlawful use of communication facilities.

The following are categories of the violations of federal drug trafficking and firearms law that the named defendants are alleged to have committed and the sentencing range if convicted:

Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, 10-life

• Avery Wayne Davis a.k.a. AD
• Sterling Lawrence Taylor a.k.a. Bo 
• Phillip Hernandez-Martinez a.k.a. Phillip Martinez-Hernandez

Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, 5-40 years

• Avery Wayne Davis a.k.a. AD
• Sterling Lawrence Taylor a.k.a. Bo
• Oltin Coneius Ward a.k.a. Lump 
• Tiffany Nicole Alphonse
• Samantha Rodriguez a.k.a. Sam a.k.a. Bonnie
• Adonis Jamaal Moore a.k.a. Mall
• Anthony Taylor a.k.a. Ant

Possession with the Intent to Distribute 0-5 or 0-20 years 

• Paul Perkins
• Darrin DeShon Ray

Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking, a mandatory 5 years consecutive to any sentence imposed in other counts

• Avery Wayne Davis a.k.a. AD
• Sterling Lawrence Taylor a.k.a. Bo
• Adonis Jamaal Moore a.k.a. Mall
• Paul Perkins
• Darrin DeShon Ray

Maintaining Drug Involved Premises and aiding and abetting

• Avery Wayne Davis a.k.a. AD 
• Sterling Lawrence Taylor a.k.a. Bo 
• Tiffany Alphonse 
• Reteecia Te Shane Handy a.k.a. Retecia Handy
• Adonis Jamaal Moore a.k.a. Mall
• Anthony Taylor a.k.a. Ant
• James Harrison
• Darrin DeShon Ray

Use of a Communications Facility to Further Drug Trafficking

• James Harrison

Money Laundering

• Avery Davis a.k.a. AD
• Tiffany Alphonse 
• Shydale McNickels a.k.a. Missy, and 
• Reteecia Te Shane Handy a.k.a. Retecia Handy

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Summary of All 24 Counts

• Count 1 – Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine 
• Count 2 – Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine 
• Count 3 – Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments involving drug‑trafficking proceeds 
• Counts 4–8 – Using or maintaining drug‑involved premises at multiple Dallas locations, including Roberts Ave., Munger Ave., Cedar Mountain Circle, Woodmeadow Parkway, and Abrams Road 
• Counts 9–10 – Possession with intent to distribute cocaine 
• Count 11 – Possession with intent to distribute marijuana 
• Counts 12–17 – Possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, involving multiple weapons including Taurus pistols, a Glock handgun, a Canik pistol, and a 300 Blackout rifle 
• Count 18 – Unlawful use of a communication facility, specifically a cellular telephone, to facilitate cocaine distribution 
• Count 19 – Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine 
• Count 20 – Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base 
• Counts 21–22 – Maintaining drug‑involved premises on Coolidge Street 
• Counts 23–24 – Possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, involving a .50‑caliber Desert Eagle and a .357 Magnum revolver 

The DEA, FBI, IRS-CI and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myria Boehm from the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. 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 Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, and United States Secret Service in partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety, City of Dallas Police Department, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement entities.  

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.