The Justice Department on Wednesday indicted 29 people in North Dakota and California based on its organized crime task force investigation into the trafficking of methamphetamine and heroin from Bakersfield to the Bakken region.
Justice officials said the investigation was a collaborative investigative effort by the FBI, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Bakersfield Police Department, the Minot Police Department, the Ward County, North Dakota, Sheriff’s Office, the Ward County Narcotics Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Metro Area Narcotics Task Force, the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The recently unsealed indictments came as a result of Operation Western Edge, an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers of the District of North Dakota, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem of North Dakota, OCDETF Director Bruce Ohr and U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter of the District of Montana formally announced the Bakken Organized Crime Strike Force on June 3, a Justice Department statement said.
“The FBI is committed to the security of the Bakken area of North Dakota,” Special Agent in Charge Richard Thornton of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division said in the statement. “We will continue to aggressively investigate organized crime wherever it may be found. We will work with our law enforcement partners, through the Bakken Organized Crime Strike Force, to ensure that those who engage in this type of criminal activity pay a high price.”
The indictments of the 22 from Western North Dakota and the seven from California were announced on Wednesday by Mr. Myers, U.S. attorney Benjamin B. Wagner of the Eastern District of California, Mr. Stenehjem, Mr. Thornton and Chief Greg Williamson of the Bakersfield Police Department.
“The strike force was designed to work as one unit to identify, target and dismantle criminal organizations working in the Bakken, and reach beyond the borders of North Dakota to ensure the entire criminal organization is brought to justice,” Mr. Myers said in the DOJ statement. “After only a few months, we are seeing the efficiency, strength and extended reach provided by the strike force model. The results here are exactly what we hoped for when we designed the strike force.”
The Justice Department said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Volk of the District of North Dakota will prosecute the following defendants:
Ronnie Ray Taylor, 43, of Bakersfield;
Terrance Darshay Lynn Peterson, aka Turtle, 42, of Minot, North Dakota;
Victor Murillo, aka Vic, 32, of Bakersfield;
Debra Meladore Davis, 49, of Minot;
Bryan Keith Davis, 48, of Minot;
Regina Rose Lehman, 43, of Minot;
Michael John Gietl, 43, in federal custody;
Robert Raymond Althaus, 44, of Minot;
Peggy Lee St. Claire, 53, of Minot;
Jade Marie Backman, 33, of Minot;
Jody Lee Deharty, 25, of Minot;
Ricky Dean Strahan, 56, of Minot;
Gerald Wayne Osby Jr., 22, of Minot;
James Alex Locklear, 27, of Minot;
Alyssa Jo Schlienz, 21, of Minot;
Audra Dezzari Harris, 39, of Minot;
Gilbert Eugene Graim Jr., 21, of Bakersfield;
Teoshalashanae M. Songcuan, 24, of Bakersfield;
Deandre Trayvon Peterson, 24, of Minot;
Jimmy Dale Price, 42, of Minot;
Miranda Leigh Grant, 30, of Minot; and
Rodney Lee Jackson, 49, Carson, California.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Delaney of the Eastern District of California will prosecute the following defendants:
Ricardo Cruz Gomez, 23, of Bakersfield;
Marquiz Demitric Tucker, 44, of Bakersfield;
Labrea Leshawn Davis, 29, of Bakersfield;
Robin Lee, 25, of Bakersfield;
Nina Johnson, 35, of Bakersfield;
Michael Muniz, 43, of Bakersfield; and
Ruben Valdez Jr., 37, of Bakersfield.
• Maria Stainer can be reached at mstainer@washingtontimes.com.
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