Operation Home Of The Brave: Eight Individuals Arraigned For Drug Conspiracy

The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes.  A Criminal Complaint does not constitute evidence of guilt.  A Criminal Complaint is a method of bringing charges against the defendant.  A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court.  Federal prison sentences are non-paroleable.

"OPERATION HOME OF THE BRAVE"

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that the following individuals were arraigned on January 27, 2016, on charges of Drug Conspiracy, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A).

CODY McCLENDON, age 35, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, MICHAEL LINCOLN, age 39, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, AMBER CLAPHAN, age 33, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, DONALD TRAMMEL, age 40, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, SAMANTHA SMITH, age 21, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, TERESA CHAGOLLA, age 54, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, JACOB MASTERS, age 54, of Tulsa, Oklahoma and NATHAN GREEN, age 27, of Hulbert, Oklahoma.

The Criminal Complaint filed on January 25, 2016, alleges that from in or about June 2015 and continuing up to and including the time of this Complaint, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendants, did willfully and knowingly combine, conspire, confederate and agree together, and with other persons known and unknown, to Possess with Intent to Distribute and the Distribution of 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.

The Investigation revealed that Cody McClendon, an Indian Brotherhood (IBH) gang member, currently an inmate with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in McAlester, Oklahoma was utilizing a contraband cellular phone that he kept hidden on his person and inside his prison cell to facilitate the sale and distribution of methamphetamine. McClendon was doing this by using the cellular phone to communicate with co-conspirators via audio phone calls, text messages, and by communicating on the social media website Facebook.

The charges arose from a joint investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Tahlequah Police Department, the Muskogee Police Department, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The investigation was coordinated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the Eastern District of Oklahoma.  OCDETF is an initiative led, and coordinated by, the Office of the United States Attorney.

The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearings.  All defendants were remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals Service.

The statutory range of punishment for a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), is not less than 10 years and not more than life imprisonment up to a  $10,000,000.00 fine or both.

Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.