Crack distributor heads to prison

GALVESTON, Texas - A 44-year-old La Marque resident has been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Smith Henry Jones pleaded guilty Feb. 17, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown has now ordered Jones to serve 144 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. The court also issued a final order of forfeiture for $60,000 in cash and a residential house with lot valued at approximately $250,000.

Between February 2017 and February 2019, Jones managed a group of persons who distributed cocaine base or "crack" in the La Marque and Texas City areas.

Jones will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI's Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Force and the La Marque Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth A. Cusick and Mary Ellen Smyth prosecuted the case.