Leader of Money Laundering and Cocaine Trafficking 20 Years in Prison

Western NC -- According to Dena J. King, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced the head and organizer of a cocaine trafficking and money laundering

operation that operated throughout the Carolinas and across the nation to 20 years in prison. Jervonta Antonio Walker, 39, of Los Angeles, California, also known as Bruce Hudson and Stunna, was sentenced to a prison term as well as five years of supervised release.

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is in charge of the Charlotte District Office, Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which is in charge of Charlotte, and Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, are all present to make this announcement with U.S. Attorney King (IRS-CI).

Walker oversaw a drug conspiracy that transported almost 1,000 kg of cocaine from California into North Carolina and South Carolina between 2014 and September 2020, laundering the proceeds of the crime, according to court records and submitted affidavits. Law authorities confiscated 30 kilos of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, and almost $500,000 in cash during the investigation. Walker previously entered guilty pleas to charges of money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with purpose to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Co-defendants of Walker who were previously sentenced by Judge Bell are listed below:

Jared Shemaiah Jones, 39, of Alphaetta, Georgia, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was given a sentence of 360 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Jasneko Marquell Wright, 35, of Newberry, South Carolina, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and received a sentence of 120 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Joel Mark Walker, 36, of Columbia, South Carolina, was found guilty of conspiring to launder money and received a sentence of 84 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Jarmel Brownlee, 31, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and received a sentence of 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.
Nathasha Lawes, 33, of Clover, South Carolina, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and was given a sentence of 36 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Phonesavanh Phonesavang, 39, of Charlotte, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and was given a sentence of 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Marlaina Nashae Smoot, 27, of Newberry, South Carolina, was found guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess cocaine with the intent to distribute, and she was given a sentence of 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Judiet Vontella Cooper, 36, of Charlotte, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to launder money, and possession with intent to distribute heroin. She was given a sentence of one year and one day in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
For conspiring to distribute and possessing with the purpose to distribute cocaine, Marquita Andrea Hunter, 48, of Columbia, South Carolina, received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Yannick Anderson, 26, of New York, is a second defendant charged in this case. He faces charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine with the intent to distribute, money laundering conspiracy, three counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Anderson is still at large.

The hefty term imposed today is the result of an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) in the Western District of North Carolina. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte.