Muncie men convicted, sentenced in federal drug trafficking case
INDIANAPOLIS. — A federal investigation of interstate drug trafficking has resulted in prison terms for five Hoosiers, including two Muncie men.
When authorities announced related grand jury indictments in December 2019, they said a six-month investigation — referred to as "Operation Momma's Boy" — had resulted in seizure of an estimated 23 pounds of meth, with a street value of about $250,000.
The U.S. Attorney's office last week announced resolution of the cases, which have taken place over the past several months, after a seventh defendant in the investigation was sentenced to prison.
James D. Briscoe, 39, of Muncie, last October was sentenced to 23 years in prison — by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt — after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of 580 grams or more of meth and nine counts of unlawful use of a communications facility.
In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Kendra Klump wrote that Briscoe:
Conspired with others "to traffic large amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana" in Indiana.
Sold a co-defendant more than five pounds of meth, in Muncie, on Oct. 24, 2019.
Maintained "numerous stash houses," including homes on Vine Street and Memorial Drive in Muncie. and received packages containing drugs mailed to at least one of those addresses.
Was "one of the more culpable parties in an organization that was responsible for introducing large amounts of methamphetamines into this district."
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Briscoe — with prior Delaware County convictions for crimes including robbery and dealing in cocaine — is incarcerated at a federal prison in Greenville, Illinois, about 50 miles northeast of St. Louis.
He has a projected release date in July 2039, according to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons website.
Another Muncie man, 43-year-old James "P-Bone" Bell, in March was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, by Judge Pratt, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substance.
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According to his plea agreement, Bell distributed drugs, including meth and marijuana, that had been shipped to Indiana from California.
Investigators found Bell, and a co-defendant, in a Weber Drive home in November 2019 after intercepting a box containing nearly three pounds of meth that had been mailed there.
Seized from that address were drug paraphernalia, about 15 pounds of marijuana, two guns with ammunition and about $9,500 in cash.
Bell is being held at the Terre Hate Federal Correctional Institute.
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Five other co-defendants included Anderson resident Damarus Page, 40, who was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug and firearm charges.
Two of those receiving prison terms as a result of the "Operation Momma's Boy" investigation are from California.
The investigation as conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Services
They were assisted by Muncie, Anderson and Terre Haute police, Clay County sheriff's deputies and Indiana State Police.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Two Muncie men sentenced in federal drug trafficking investigation
