12 Charged With Fentanyl Trafficking in Abilene

Twelve alleged fentanyl traffickers were arrested in a large-scale drug bust in Abilene, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

The takedown – the second in an operation that previously resulted in the prosecution of 17 drug traffickers arrested during a large-scale bust in late February  – involved agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office -  Abilene Resident Office, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the Abilene Police Department, and the Callahan County Sheriff’s Office. 

Those charged in two separate indictments unsealed today include:

• Christopher Thompson, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Marquee Anthony Aboso, aka OC, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Kurtney Bernard Jones, aka KP, charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Steven Lattimore, aka PNut, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Mckenzee Marie Lane, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Maxine Gonzales, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Tylik Ojur Johnson, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Jeremiah Greene, aka Lil Mexico, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Paul Eli Snyder, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Robert Lee Mason, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Glen Edward Lee, Jr., charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Christopher Anthony Glaze, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

Over the course of the operation into these individuals, agents seized more than 14,856 fentanyl pills, 45.4 grams of heroin, 2.56 grams of meth, and 15.56 grams of crack cocaine, as well as multiple firearms.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, some defendants named in these indictments face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Sixteen of the 17 defendants arrested in February’s takedown have already been convicted. Fourteen have already been sentenced to a combined 187 years in federal prison; two pleaded guilty and await sentencing, and one is awaiting trial. The lead defendant, Diana Perez, deemed responsible for more than 109,221 kilograms of drugs, was sentenced Thursday to more than 24 years in federal prison.  

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office - Abilene Resident Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas Field Division - Fort Worth Resident Agency, and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives' Dallas Field Division, and the IRS – Criminal Investigations. The cases are being prosecuted by the West Texas Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

This prosecution stems from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) instigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transitional criminal organizations that threaten the Untied 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.