U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri issued the following announcement on Jan. 14.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, and multiple law enforcement agencies arrested 15 people, including five St. Louis area residents, today on charges that they conspired to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. Among those charged were:
Miguel Silva-Torres, Jr., 31, of St. Ann;
Frank Stogsdill, Sr., 57, of O’Fallon, Missouri;
David Henderson, 58, of Bonne Terre;
Royce Spann, 35, of St. Louis; and
Randall Bryant, 48, of DeSoto.
The five men were added in a sealed Superseding Indictment dated January 9, 2020, that details the seizures of drugs, money, and firearms from the group. It was unsealed today following the arrests. They join Ramon Gonzalez, 47, of St. Peters, Missouri, who was charged in April 2019. According to the Superseding Indictment, the conspiracy reached nearly halfway across the country, and included significant seizures in St. Louis, Kansas City, and California. The investigation culminated in April and May 2019, with the seizure of more than $150,000 in May alone.
“As today’s unsealed indictment demonstrates, when someone chooses to sell drugs, support or join a drug trafficking organization that distributes drugs, there is an entire network of federal, state and local law enforcement officers ready to stop them,” said United States Attorney Jeffrey B. Jensen. “In the last year, this office has doubled the number of federal firearm- and drug-related prosecutions as a result of cooperative and wide-reaching investigations like this.”
“We know there is a correlation between drugs and violence in the St. Louis Metro area. This is the kind of drug and weapons trafficking criminal organization the DEA, along with our law enforcement partners, seek to dismantle,” said DEA St. Louis Field Division Special Agent in Charge William Callahan. “By taking out the entire organization with operations extending beyond Missouri’s borders, these charges today are another step toward making the St. Louis Metro area a safer place.”
St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar added, “On behalf of the St. Charles County regional Drug Task Force, we are extremely proud to have worked in partnership with the DEA in bringing down one of the largest drug distribution networks in our region’s history.”
Echoing those sentiments was Chief Rick Struttmann of the St. Peters Police Department, who noted, “The St. Peters Police Department is appreciative of the collaborative efforts and partnership between the DEA and state and local law enforcement officers. Operations of this nature are a clear demonstration of how federal, state and local task forces work when it comes to identifying and arresting criminals who are willing to participate in the distribution of controlled substances in our communities. These investigative efforts have a great impact on making our communities safer.”
As is always the case, charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Original source can be found here.
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