(WWJ) A "drug kingpin" who trafficked in Michigan and across the country has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
That's how the U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering described 44-year-old Jason Demyers, ordering him to serve 324 months (or 27 years) in prison for his work as head of a multi-state drug trafficking organization.
Prosecutor's said Demyers, 44, who now lives in Arizona, was one of the leaders of a group that distributed "massive amounts" of cocaine and meth to areas including Detroit, Lansing and Kalamazoo between August 2022 and the summer of 2024.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Demyers also worked with couriers that flew from Michigan to California with cash, and returned with drugs.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately ten kilograms of methamphetamine, eight kilograms of cocaine, multiple pieces of real property used to facilitate the drug trafficking conspiracy, and jewelry valued at approximately $325,000.
Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Detroit Field Division Andrew Lawton said Demyers and his colleagues preyed on the vulnerable. "Mr. Demyers ran a drug trafficking organization that funneled kilogram-quantities of drugs into Michigan along with an untold amount of misery and destruction," he said. "Together with our law enforcement partners, DEA will continue to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations that threaten safety and disrupt communities.”
In total, 14 people have been charged in this case, and Demyers is the seventh defendant to be sentenced. Twelve of the defendants have pled guilty, while two have entered into a pretrial diversion preprogram, officials said.
In a statement, FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller called Demyers' sentencing a victory for the American public and a defeat to drug traffickers everywhere.
"The special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation continue in their mission to disrupt the flow of ill-gotten gains that is the life-blood for these criminals,” said Miller. “We will continue to be relentless in our mission to dismantle these drug trafficking organizations and bring the criminals who run them to justice.”