Contact:
BRIAN P. LENNON
ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY
PHONE: (616) 456-2404

FLINT-AREA MAN SENTENCED TO 23 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SELLING DRUGS IN GRAND TRAVERSE

MONDAY, MAY 19, 2008 - COUNTY GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – Melvin Ray Stanley, 35, of Burton, Michigan, has been sentenced to 276 months (23 years) in prison for his role as the leader and organizer of a drug conspiracy that trafficked in marijuana, cocaine, and 3,4-methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA), commonly referred to as “Ecstasy,” U.S. Attorney Charles R. Gross announced today. Stanley also has a 2002 federal felony drug conviction for conspiracy to distribute Ecstacy. He initiated this most recent drug conspiracy while still under federal supervision following his release from federal prison in late 2004. Stanley obtained the controlled substances in the Flint and Detroit areas, but resold the drugs in Grand Traverse County, where the drugs commanded a higher price. Stanley used others, including a juvenile, to transport the drugs from the Flint area to Stanley’s customers in Grand Traverse County and elsewhere.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Gordon J. Quist sentenced both Stanley and his co-defendants, and found that Stanley was responsible for trafficking 14,314 Ecstacy pills, 6.46 kilograms of cocaine, and 192 pounds of marijuana. Senior Judge Quist also found that Stanley possessed a firearm in connection with the offense and used a minor to commit the crime.

Stanley was indicted on September 13, 2007, with co-defendants Ardalaan Nejat Adams and Eran Ann Lacewell, both of whom pled guilty and were sentenced by Senior Judge Quist on April 1, 2008. Adams, 21, of Gilbert, Arizona, pled guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced to 48 months in prison and other penalties. Lacewell, 21, of Flint, Michigan, who delivered 200 Ecstacy pills to an undercover TNT detective on September 5, 2007, pled guilty to distribution of Ecstacy and was sentenced to fours years’ probation. The investigation of other members of the Stanley drug organization remains on-going.

U.S. Attorney Gross commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Traverse City and the Michigan State Police Department’s Traverse Narcotics Team (TNT) for their successful investigation of this case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Lennon.