Four Sentenced for Multi-Kilogram Crack Cocaine Conspiracy

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The last four men in a six-man crack cocaine conspiracy were sentenced on August 8, 2023, before Chief District Court Judge Sara L. Darrow. The conspiracy covered a period of time from 2017 until mid-2020, and occurred in and around Rock Island County, Illinois. In addition to the conspiracy, some men were charged with individual counts of distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine. All six defendants involved in the conspiracy pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows. 

• Rasheem Damonte Bogan, a/k/a “Sheem”, 31, of the 1800 block of West 8^th Street, Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.  
• Raheem Jacques Houston, a/k/a “Heem”, 30, of the 800 block of 21^st Street, Rock Island, Illinois, was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.  
• Devell Carl Lewis, 35, of Brown Court Street, Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 126 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release;  
• Christopher William Pullman, a/k/a “Dime”, 35, of the 2700 block of 6^th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, was sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment and ten years of supervised release. Based on Pullman’s prior criminal history, his statutory penalties were enhanced to a mandatory minimum term of fifteen years up to a maximum of life in prison, followed by at least ten years of supervised release.
• Two other co-defendants had previously been sentenced in March of 2022 for their involvement in the conspiracy.
• Brandon Jerome Pullman, a/k/a “Tall B.” a/k/a “B”, 32, of the 2700 block of 6th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, was sentenced to 120 months’ of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.
• Cortez Deangelo Cooper, Jr., a/k/a “Tez”, 29, of the 900 block of West 14th Street, Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 125 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.

The statutory penalty for conspiracy to distribute at least 280 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, “crack” is a mandatory minimum term of ten years, and up to a maximum of life in prison, followed by at least five years of supervised release. The statutory penalty for distribution of at least 28 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, “crack” is five years to 40 years in prison, followed by at least five years of supervised release. The statutory penalty for distribution of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine or cocaine base, “crack” is up to 20 years in prison, followed by at least three years of supervised release. Each charge also carries a $100 special assessment.    

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented commentary about the multi-year nature of the conspiracy and the impact that the drug distribution had on the Quad Cities community.

Additionally, three of the men, Rasheem Bogan, Devell Lewis, and Raheem Houston, were also charged in May of 2023, by federal indictment in the Southern District of Iowa, Davenport Division, for a Racketeering Conspiracy. It is alleged that the three men and others, were members of a criminal organization known as the “Arsenal Courts Posse, a/k/a Zone Fifth, a/k/a, Fifth Street Mafia, a/k/a Rock Town Money Getters, a/k/a Money Team. According to that  indictment, the organization’s purpose was to distribute controlled substances, obtain money and things of value, and earn and maintain respect in the Quad Cities. It is alleged that Bogan, Lewis and Houston, as well as the other members of the organization, conspired to engage in a years-long pattern of violence, including murder, attempted murders, robbery, and drug trafficking. Additional information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia/pr/defendants-charged-joint-federal-state-and-local-investigation-firearms-trafficking

The Rock Island Police Department, and the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Mathew and former Assistant United States Attorney Alyssa Raya represented the government in the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF