Federal Drug Conspirators Sentenced

MOBILE, AL – Four members of a federal drug conspiracy were sentenced on July 19 in federal court. Otis Sanders, Jr., 35, of Moss Point, Mississippi; Richard Dewise, 39, of Grand Bay, Alabama;  Jeffery Ryan Clark, 28, of Mobile; and Maurice Marcell Carter, 44, of Moss Point, Mississippi, appeared before United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose in separate sentencing hearings. Carter pled guilty in November of 2023 to one count charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count charging possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Sanders, Dewise and Clark were convicted by a jury after a trial conducted in May of 2023. The trial jury convicted Sanders of eleven counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, and the count charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The trial jury convicted Dewise of three counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and the conspiracy count. 
    
Evidence from the trial established that Sanders operated a large, interstate distribution organization in which he obtained methamphetamine from suppliers in Texas for distribution in Mobile County. Sanders hired couriers to get money to Texas and return to Mobile with the drugs. The evidence showed that some of the couriers rode commercial buses for that round trip, and others used private vehicles for their transportation. Drugs were stored a residences in Moss Point and in south Mobile County until they were packaged into smaller amounts for distribution to local dealers.  

Investigators made controlled buys of methamphetamine from Sanders, Dewise and Carter during the investigation. They also obtained a court authorized wiretap on some of Sanders’ phones. Monitored phone calls between Sanders, Dewise and other conspirators proved the connection between the conspirators in the distribution organization and helped establish their roles. As a result of a series of calls and texts between Sanders and Dewise, investigators stopped Dewise traveling from a gas station in Mississippi, where they observed his meeting with Sanders, to Mobile County. They seized approximately one kilogram of Sanders’ methamphetamine ice from Dewise before he could get back to his residence in the Lakeland Drive neighborhood. Clark was identified as a courier for Sanders when he was arrested driving a vehicle in Beaumont, Texas, traveling from Mobile to Houston with approximately an ounce of methamphetamine and $17,000 in drug proceeds to pay one of Sanders’ suppliers.  

Sanders, Dewise, Clark, Carter and other conspirators were all arrested on the federal charges in June of 2023. Numerous firearms and additional quantities of methamphetamine were seized during the arrests. One firearm seized was a Glock handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device, which illegally converts a semi-automatic handgun into a machine gun. Sanders was also identified as the instigator in a drive-by shooting on Ramsay Road in south Mobile County when a member of the distribution conspiracy testified against him during the trial. Sanders did not pay one of his couriers for a shipment of 10 or 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, and a dispute arose when the courier’s cousin, one of Sanders’ distributors, withheld payment for methamphetamine previously supplied. Sanders drove by the residence where they were staying on Ramsay Road, and fired shots at them in the yard. They began a pursuit, and shots were fired between the vehicles. Mobile County sheriff’s deputies responded to the running gun battle when a complainant notified them that one of the bullets had penetrated her trailer and lodged in the wall above her bed, where she was lying when she heard the shots.   Sanders abandoned his silver Suburban in the road near the intersection with Highway 188. The deputies impounded the vehicle and seized shell casings inside the vehicle, establishing that Sanders had fired shots from the interior of the vehicle. Sanders attempted to have a private wrecker tow the vehicle before law enforcement arrived, but they were already present and investigating at that location when the wrecker driver arrived. Photographs of the Suburban were introduced into evidence, showing the vehicle had been struck by numerous bullets and the tires on the driver’s side were shredded by gunshots.  

Judge Dubose sentenced Sanders to 240 months in prison on all the counts, with the sentences to run concurrently. Sanders was also ordered to serve 5 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. Conditions of his supervision include drug and alcohol testing and treatment and the model search provision, which permits a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion that he has violated his supervision. He was also ordered to pay $1,200 in special mandatory assessments. No fine was imposed.

The judge sentenced Dewise to 150 months in prison on all the counts, with the sentences to run concurrently. Dewise was also ordered to serve 5 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. The same conditions as those imposed for Sanders’ supervision were likewise imposed for Dewise. Dewise was ordered to pay $400 in special mandatory assessments. No fine was imposed.

Clark was sentenced to 120 months in prison on all the counts, with the sentences to run concurrently. Clark will also serve 5 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. Clark will also be subject to the same conditions as those imposed for his codefendants. He was ordered to pay $200 in special mandatory assessments. No fine was imposed.  

Carter was sentenced to 120 months in prison on his two counts of conviction, with a 5 year term of supervised release to follow his imprisonment. Carter will be subject to the same conditions of supervised release as the codefendants. He was ordered to pay $200 in special mandatory assessments. No fine was imposed. 

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security, the Beaumont Police (Texas) Department, the St. Tammany Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff’s Office, and the Mobile Police Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.