Omaha Man Sentenced to 360 Months for Drug and Money Laundering Conspiracy

Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Keevan Craig Dean, 56, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and for conspiracy to launder the proceeds from the drug conspiracy.  Dean received a sentence of 360 months with a five-year term of supervised release to follow.  There is no parole in the federal system.

In mid-2017, a Drug Enforcement Administration taskforce initiated Operation Dog Pound, which was a drug interdiction effort focused on an Omaha drug trafficking organization headed by Dean.  In September 2018, task force members were authorized to intercept and monitor Dean’s phone calls and text messages.  As the scope of the organization was revealed, task force members were able to determine who was involved and how methamphetamine was being brought to Nebraska for distribution.  Numerous multi-pound packages containing methamphetamine that were being sent via the United States Postal Service were seized, as well as the interdiction of a car traveling from California to Nebraska with 10 pounds of methamphetamine.  Operation Dog Pound ended on November 16, 2018, when numerous federal arrest warrants were executed in Nebraska, Iowa, and California.  During the November takedown, $55,000, 9 firearms, 2.75 pounds of methamphetamine, a Mercedes Benz, and $30,000 in jewelry and valuables were seized.

Some of the notable members of the conspiracy that were convicted in federal court included Autumn Vanosdol, Katina Martinez, Timothy Agee, Travis Harvey, and Francis Peebles.  Vanosdol was sentenced to 96 months in prison for money laundering and mailing packages of methamphetamine from California to Dean.  Martinez was sentenced to 84 months in prison for assisting Dean distribute methamphetamine in Nebraska and Iowa and for money laundering.  Timothy Agee was sentenced to 280 months in prison for money laundering, possessing a stolen firearm, and receiving packages of methamphetamine for Dean.  Peebles was sentenced to 120 months and Harvey to 240 months in prison.  Both were multi-pound methamphetamine distributors that received methamphetamine from Dean.

“The investigation into the Keevan Dean Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) proved once again that drugs and violence go hand-in-hand,” DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King said. “During the course of the investigation, investigators uncovered more than 25 pounds of methamphetamine and 10 firearms. These items alone are dangerous, but when combined, exemplify an extreme threat to our communities. With Dean off of the streets for 30 years, and members of the DTO serving time for their involvement, our families and our streets are safer.”

Operation Dog Pound was 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.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Nebraska State Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Omaha Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.