NEWS RELEASE
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The final defendants in a drug trafficking operation were sentenced this week in United States District Court, by United States District Judge Greg N. Stivers, to prison sentences for their roles in a money laundering and methamphetamine distribution network operating from Fresno, California, to Allen County, Kentucky, and included the illegal possession of 26 firearms and more than 3,700 rounds of ammunition, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Bradley Burton Brown 37, of Allen County, and Ashley Dawn Kendall, 25, of Franklin, Kentucky, directed a conspiracy that distributed more than 80 grams of crystal methamphetamine and diverted the proceeds through pre-paid bank cards, with co-defendants Adam Scott Gallagher and Kevin Joseph Willey, between March 2014, and February 26, 2015.
Brown, who was in custody, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and a five year term of supervised release and Kendall was taken into custody following her sentencing of 48 months in prison and a three year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Co-defendant Willey was sentenced to 110 months in prison and a five year period of supervised release, and Gallagher, who was living in California, was sentenced to 36 months in prison and a five year term of supervised release. Both were sentenced on March 10, 2016, by Judge Stivers in Bowling Green.
According to the plea agreements, Brown and Kendall would direct Willey to ship packages of crystal methamphetamine from Fresno, CA to Gallagher, located here in the Western District of Kentucky. Once the methamphetamine was received by Gallagher, he would then deliver it to Brown and Kendall to distribute. Brown and Kendall would conceal payments to Willey for the methamphetamine by using prepaid Green Dot Bank cards. They would load the cards with the proceeds from the sale of methamphetamine here in the Western District of Kentucky and then provide Willey with the card’s pin number allowing him to obtain the loaded cash in California. According to DEA chemical analysis, the 81.2 grams of methamphetamine recovered from Brown and Kendall on September 17, 2014, tested at over 95 percent purity resulting in a total of 77.7 grams of actual methamphetamine.
Further, on September 17, 2015, Brown, then an unlawful user of a controlled substance, possessed the following firearms: 1. Llama (Gabilondo & Cia), .40 caliber pistol, model XII; 2. High Standard, .22 caliber revolver, model Sentinel; 3. Jennings Firearms, .22 caliber pistol; 4. Keltec, CNC Industries, .380 caliber pistol, model P3A T; 5. Phoenix Anns Co., .25 caliber pistol, model Raven; 6. Marlin Firearms Co., .30-.30 caliber rifle, model336CS; 7. Savage, .243 caliber rifle, model Stevens 200; 8. Browning, 12 gauge shotgun, model Light 12; 9. Ruger, .22 caliber rifle, model 10/22; 10. Marlin Firearms Co., .22 caliber rifle, model Golden 39A; 11. Mossberg, 12 gauge shotgun, model 835 Ulti-Mag; 12. New England Firearms, 12 gauge shotgun, model Pardner; 13. Savage, 20 gauge shotgun, model Stevens 94; 14. Marlin Firearms Co., .22 caliber rifle, model XT-22; 15. Winchester, .30-.30 caliber rifle, model 94 (stolen); 16. Marlin Firearms Co., .22 caliber rifle, model 80; 17. Mossberg, 410 gauge shotgun, model500E; 18. Winchester, .22 caliber rifle, model 190; 19. Winchester, .22 caliber rifle, model190; 20. Winchester, .22 caliber rifle, model 190; 21. Keystone Sporting Arms, .22 caliber rifle, model Cricket; 22. Savage, .22 caliber rifle, model Stevens 87A; 23. Winchester, .22 caliber rifle, model67; 24. Marlin Firearms Co., .22 caliber rifle, model 75C; and 3,707 rounds of assorted ammunition.
Also, on September 17, 2014, Kendall, being an unlawful user of a controlled substance possessed a Romarm/Cugir, .762 rifle, model GP WASR 10/63 and a Marlin Firearms Co., .22 caliber rifle, model 99M1.
Assistant United States Attorney Mac Shannon prosecuted the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation.