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Date: 05-21-2024
Case Style:
United States of America v. DONALD PAUL SPITTLER; SUSAN MELODY SAXON; DANNA LAVON MCCARLEY
Case Number: 6:22-cr-00143
Judge:
Court: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Muskogee
Defendant's Attorney: http://www.morelaw.com/lawyers/atty.asp?f=Terry&l=Weber&i=4586&z=74013
Description: Muskogee, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant Susan Meldoy Saxon who was charged with Federal Drug Crimes
Three Members Of Drug Enterprise Sentenced For Federal Drug Crimes
Three Oklahoma residents, DONALD PAUL SPITTLER, age 42, of Holdenville, SUSAN MELODY SAXON, age 49, of Shawnee, and DANNA LAVON MCCARLEY, age 38, of Ardmore, were sentenced for federal drug charges.
The charges arose from investigations by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, and the District 22 Drug Task Force.
On January 19, 2023, Spittler and McCarley each pleaded guilty to one count of Drug Conspiracy. On February 7, 2023, Saxon pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.
Spittler, Saxon, and McCarley participated in a scheme to obtain and distribute methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. In January 2022, McCarley used a vehicle belonging to Spittler and Saxon to travel to El Centro, California. In El Centro, McCarley obtained a large quantity of methamphetamine, divided it into separate parcels, and sent the parcels priority overnight mail. The packages were addressed to residences in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The U.S. Postal service flagged the parcels as suspicious, and a narcotics canine alerted on the packages. USPIS investigators obtained and executed a search warrant finding a package addressed to Spittler at a residence associated with Saxon contained nearly 3,000 grams of methamphetamine; a second parcel addressed to McCarley contained over 2,000 grams of methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers replaced the original parcels with dummy packages and completed the controlled deliveries. Agents executed federal search warrants on the residences which led to the discovery of additional quantities of methamphetamine, scales, and money.
“Methamphetamine continues to be one of the most dangerous and prevalent illicit drugs in Oklahoma, tearing families apart and ruins lives as it makes its way into our neighborhoods,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez, who leads operations in Oklahoma. “Defendants Spittler, Saxon, and McCarley are now learning the hard way that the strong law enforcement partnerships in Eastern Oklahoma will always see that justice prevails.”
“The USPIS seeks to rid the mail of illicit drug trafficking and the associated violence, preserve the integrity of the mail, and, most importantly, provide a safe environment for postal employees and Postal Service customers — the American public,” said Inspector in Charge Kai Pickens of the Fort Worth Division. “We are thankful for our partnerships with the DEA, OBN, District 22 Drug Task Force, and USAO. We will not stop pursuing those who seek to utilize the mail system for illicit drug trafficking. We will continue our long standing tradition of protecting the mail system and effectively enforcing the laws of this nation.”
“We cannot overstate the importance of these collaborative investigations,” said OBN Director Donnie Anderson. “Methamphetamine continues to be a leading cause of drug-related deaths in Oklahoma. My agency is committed to working along-side our state and federal partners to target, arrest, and prosecute those responsible for distributing meth onto the streets of Oklahoma.”
“I would like to start by first offering my gratitude to the dedicated state and federal law enforcement agencies that were involved in this investigation, and secondly I want to acknowledge the great work of our partner prosecutors in the Eastern District, specifically the service of AUSA Erin Cornell,” said Erik Johnson, District Attorney for District 22, representing Pontotoc, Seminole and Hughes Counties. “We are in a daily battle to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities, and collaborative work on cases like this is becoming the new normal and making our efforts much more successful.”
“I commend the DEA, OBN, District 22 Drug Task Force, and USPIS for their collaboration and excellent investigative work in dismantling this drug trafficking organization,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “It remains our collective mission to curtail the flow of illegal drugs into our communities and to hold drug distributors accountable.”
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. The Defendants will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentences of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Erin Cornell represented the United States.
Outcome:
Defendants were found guilty and
Spittler was sentenced to 360 months in prison.
Saxon was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
McCarley was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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