Eight members of a Chicago-based drug trafficking conspiracy have been indicted in federal court over their alleged distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Duluth, Minnesota.
According to court documents, between December 2021 and February 2024, Carl Maurice Brown, 32, of Chicago; Robert Desean Chism, 35, of Chicago; Matthew James Erickson, 35, of Duluth; Anthony Lenard Green, 34, of Chicago; Ezell Cordero Lucas, 32, of Chicago; Arreal Dominique Timberlake, 30, of Chicago; Deandre Michael Westmoreland, 35, of Chicago; and Pharoo Nasun Witherspoon, 35, of Chicago, conspired to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine throughout Duluth and the Twin Ports region.
Lucas, who was identified by law enforcement as the leader of the conspiracy, arranged the fentanyl sales in Duluth and directed other members of the conspiracy to conduct the transactions.
All eight defendants have been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Duluth Police Commander Chad Nargorski says he’s proud of the hard work that went into the federal indictment but added that the crisis is real and far from over.
“We’ve had a steady supply of fentanyl to the Twin Ports task force area for a number of years now,” Nargorski said. “And, actually, the prices are going down, which means that the sales are going up.”
He says he would love to say that taking the drug dealers off the street will make a difference, but there are so many of them out there to fill the void, creating a dangerous situation.
“One of the things we do see, unfortunately, is sometimes you do see a spike in overdoses after we do a big arrest because someone’s used to the potency level of fentanyl that when they go somewhere else, they get a higher potency and often end up overdosing,” Nargorski said.
The commander spoke at a press conference Tuesday about the federal indictment of 8 Chicago-based drug dealers.
Throughout the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers with the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force seized large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from conspiracy members.
Chism and Westmoreland made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.
Brisbois. Brown, Erickson, Green, and Lucas previously made their initial appearances in the U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota.
Witherspoon is currently serving a term of imprisonment in Cook County, Illinois.
Timberlake previously made her initial appearance in the Northern District of Illinois. Timberlake’s and Witherspoon’s initial appearances in U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota will be at a later date.