Eighteen defendants from the Laurens and Toombs County area are in custody awaiting further legal proceedings following their initial court appearances earlier this week from a 55-count drug trafficking indictment in U.S. District Court in Statesboro.
Each of the 18 defendants is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
Some also were charged with possession and distribution of drugs and illegal firearms use and possession, along with multiple charges related to the use of cell phones inside and outside Georgia prison facilities to advance the conspiracy.
Among those charged were Tiffany Marie Turbyfill, 33, of Twin City and Jermaine Maurice Brown, 46, Willie Brown, 52, John Taylor Jackson, 35, Joshua Brown, 22, Antone Victoria, 43, and Jaquan Collier, 24, all of Vidalia. Prior to his arrest, Collier worked as a jailer at Toombs County Detention Center.
“This case once again demonstrates that small communities are not immune from the disastrous consequences of drug trafficking,” Steinberg said. “The continued vigilance of our law enforcement partners helps ensure illegal drug distribution operations are identified and disrupted.”
The case, investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, began in response to significant drug trafficking activity in Toombs and Laurens counties. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, along with local law enforcement agencies, coordinated with the Drug Enforcement Administration to infiltrate the network and obtain evidence to prosecute the defendants named in the indictment.
Also named in the indictment were:
• Brett Youmans, 45, Dublin. Youmans currently is an inmate at the Coffee County Correctional
Facility serving the remainder of a state sentence for illegal gun possession.
• Woodrow Scott, 52, an inmate at Macon State Prison where he is serving a life sentence for murder.
• Constance Marie Scott, 51, Brookhaven, sister of Woodrow Scott.
• Patrick Portwood, 42, Dublin. Portwood currently is an inmate at the Burress Correctional Training Center serving the remainder of a state sentence for methamphetamine distribution.
• Brittany Nicole Cook, 33, Lyons.
• Stacy NeeSmith, 40, Dublin.
• Cordell Stallings,55, Lyons.
• Joshua James Carlo, 47, Uvalda.
• Jody Ivey, 42, Ivey.
• Laquanta King, 35, Atlanta.
• Wesley McRae, 40, Hawkinsville.
In addition to drug charges, several of the defendants are charged with illegal gun possession. The indictment includes notice of forfeiture of 16 firearms seized during the investigation.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which the Department of Justice tasks with “identifying, disrupting and dismantling the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.”