Pharmacy Burglary Conspirators Arraigned Today in Federal Court (2024)

LITTLE ROCK—On July 30, 2024, in Houston, Texas, the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated the arrests of twenty-four co-conspirators following a superseding indictment in the Eastern District of Arkansas. The arrests follow the initial indictment and arrest of eighteen people from the Houston, Texas, area in November 2023. Defendants arrested in July appeared on the superseding indictment in the Eastern District of Arkansas today before United States Magistrate Joseph J. Volpe. The superseding indictment charges conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute Schedule II through V controlled substances, as well as pharmacy burglary, conspiracy to commit pharmacy burglary, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Keith Brown, 34, of Houston, Texas, and 41 others were named in this superseding indictment.

From February 2022 to November 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration Little Rock District Office (DEA LRDO) identified more than twenty pharmacy burglaries and thefts of pharmaceutical narcotics in Arkansas. In each of the burglaries, the suspects used similar methods of entry and tools, as well as matching clothing and unique footwear. The stolen pharmaceuticals including, oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup, were transported to Houston, Texas, where they were sold illicitly. Intelligence developed by the DEA LRDO and the Houston Police Department Northeast Division Crime Suppression Team identified the drug trafficking organization as being comprised of documented local gang members from the 5th Ward area in Houston, Texas. Following the initial indictment, DEA identified 24 additional co-conspirators who participated in numerous burglaries in 31 states. The scope of the burglary ring encompasses the theft of hundreds of thousands of pharmaceutical drugs with a street value of more than $12 million dollars. Investigators also seized eleven firearms, approximately $79,000 in U.S. currency, and custom jewelry retailing at approximately $510,000.

The current case is similar in kind and scope to a 2016 case indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas in which twenty-four members of a local Houston 5th Ward gang, ‘The Trill Fam,’ were prosecuted for multi-state pharmacy burglaries and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. One current defendant, Thristian Duplechin, was prosecuted in the 2016 indictment, served a federal sentence, and returned to the same criminal activity.

“These defendants were part of a criminal organization whose objective was to break into pharmacies nationwide to steal narcotics that they peddled on the streets,” said Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “This case exemplifies the hard work put in by federal, state, and local agencies working together to infiltrate and dismantle violent gangs whose main mission is for profit and the destruction of communities. Our office is committed to prosecuting multi-state criminal organizations that effect not only the Eastern District of Arkansas, but citizens across the United States.”

“This criminal organization prioritized money and greed over the safety and well-being of the American people. Their goal was to sell stolen pharmaceuticals in our neighborhoods for easy money,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer, DEA New Orleans Division. “Through the DEA’s investigative efforts across the country, that spanned nearly three years, we were able to link this drug trafficking organization to more than 200 pharmacy burglaries across 31 states and ultimately make our communities safer.”

The defendants, all from the greater Houston, Texas area, were arrested in July.

All defendants charged in Count 1 only.

Count and Penalties

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance: 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C) & 846

Not more than 20 years imprisonment.

Not less than 3 years supervised release.

Not more than $1,000,000 fine.

$100 Special Assessment

Investigators with the DEA LRDO worked in conjunction with the following law enforcement partners:

DEA New Orleans Division (Little Rock District Office, Fayetteville Resident Office, Shreveport Resident Office, Mobile Resident Office),

DEA Special Operations Division,

DEA Houston Division (Houston TDS Group, Galveston Resident Office),

DEA Omaha Division,

DEA Rocky Mountain Division (Salt Lake City District Office, Cheyenne Resident Office),

DEA Atlanta Division (Columbia District Office),

DEA Miami Division (Pensacola District Office),

FBI Little Rock Field Office,

FBI Cast Team,

U.S. Marshals Service,

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics,

Harris County Sheriff’s Office,

Houston Police Department Northeast Division Crime Suppression Team,

Houston Police Department CID,

Arkansas State Police, and other Arkansas local law enforcement partners.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anne Gardner and Amanda Fields.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

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@USAO_EDAR