Interstate Drug-Trafficker Sentenced To 180 Months In Prison

<_w3a_sdt docpart="5623228DF5B64F2A949F3A6495BB5EDD" dropdown="t" id="-1351956640" sdttag="City" title="City"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."><_w3a_listitem datavalue="GRAND RAPIDS" listvalue="GRAND RAPIDS"><_w3a_listitem datavalue="MARQUETTE" listvalue="MARQUETTE"> MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Bradley Scott Heard, 46, of Havre, Montana, and Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker to 180 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Heard's co-defendant, Davell Blackman, 45, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, was previously sentenced to 60 months in prison.

<_w3a_sdt docpart="5623228DF5B64F2A949F3A6495BB5EDD" dropdown="t" id="-1351956640" sdttag="City" title="City"> "My office is committed to disrupting drug trafficking rings pushing poison into our communities," said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. "We will continue to collaborate with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in the U.P. and across the District to hold traffickers accountable and keep illegal drugs off of our streets."

<_w3a_sdt docpart="5623228DF5B64F2A949F3A6495BB5EDD" dropdown="t" id="-1351956640" sdttag="City" title="City"> In June 2023, members of the Michigan State Police Traffic Safety Team, in collaboration with the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET), stopped Heard, Blackman, and a passenger as they drove through Menominee County. During a search of the vehicle, investigators found approximately a pound of high-purity methamphetamine that Heard intended to distribute.

<_w3a_sdt docpart="5623228DF5B64F2A949F3A6495BB5EDD" dropdown="t" id="-1351956640" sdttag="City" title="City"> "UPSET is dedicated to stopping interstate drug-traffickers whenever they come into the Upper Peninsula," said Detective Sergeant Matt LaBonte, Interim Commander of the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team. "We will continue to work closely with our federal and local partners to ensure that individuals like Bradley Heard are brought to justice."

<_w3a_sdt docpart="5623228DF5B64F2A949F3A6495BB5EDD" dropdown="t" id="-1351956640" sdttag="City" title="City"> Heard has a decades-long criminal history that includes previous convictions for selling cocaine base, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and other drug crimes. He also has a history of violence, including a conviction for armed robbery and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

<_w3a_sdt docpart="5623228DF5B64F2A949F3A6495BB5EDD" dropdown="t" id="-1351956640" sdttag="City" title="City"> The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team, Michigan State Police Traffic Safety Team, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob S. Metoxen and Ted Greeley prosecuted the case.

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