Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Deandre Marqui Gray (42, Houston, Texas) to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. He pleaded guilty on November 2, 2016.
According to court documents, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began investigating Gray in December 2014, after seizing $104,000 and $18,000 from his drug associates. Those seizures led to the arrest of several individuals in the Middle District of Florida. A cooperating defendant (“CD”) relayed to DEA agents that he had been receiving cocaine from Gray, beginning in late 2014. According to the CD, he and others would travel to Houston, Texas to meet with Gray and then transport the cocaine back to Bradenton, Florida. The CD was paying Gray approximately $31,000 per kilogram to Gray. The money that was seized in December 2014 was intended to be used to purchase kilograms of cocaine from Gray. From September 2014 through May 2015, Gray was responsible for the transportation of 50 kilograms of cocaine from Texas to the Middle District of Florida.
This case was investigated by the DEA. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shauna S. Hale.