Leader of Sacramento Cocaine Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Maurice Bryant, 54, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 168 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 5,000 grams of cocaine and 280 grams of cocaine base and for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, both in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1), U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Bryant is among the 15 federal defendants arrested in 2021 and charged in a 45-count indictment for trafficking narcotics as part of a DEA-led multi-agency operation targeting cocaine and heroin traffickers in North Sacramento. The Court found Bryant to be an organizer or leader of the vast cocaine distribution network. During just 60 days of wiretaps in 2018 and 2019, he was intercepted strategizing the movement of cocaine over the Mexican border, distributing over five kilograms of powder cocaine and a kilogram of cocaine base to his co-conspirators, and converting large quantities of powder cocaine into cocaine base (crack cocaine) in his residence. At the time of his arrest, agents seized drug trafficking paraphernalia, two loaded firearms, and a military-grade bullet proof vest from his residence.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron L. Desmond is prosecuting the case.

Below is the status of Bryant's co-defendants:

On September 29, 2022, Jason Tolbert, 45, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

On November 17, 2022, Charles Carter, 36, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine.

On November 17, 2022, Andre Hellams, 40, of North Highlands, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Hellams is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17, 2025.

On December 8, 2022, Michael Hampton, 57, of Vallejo, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine.

On March 16, 2023, Arlington Caine, 48, of Rio Linda, was sentenced to 22 months in prison for two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

On March 14, 2024, Bobby Conner, 51, of Sacramento, was sentenced to six months in prison for two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

On April 25, 2024, 2023, Dwight Haney, 52, of Sacramento was sentenced to time served for two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

On May 30, 2024, Jerome Adams, 56, of North Highlands, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

On August 8, 2024, Steven Hampton, 64, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine.

On September 26, 2024, Mark Martin, 63, of Sacramento was sentenced to time served for using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

On August 1, 2024, Alex White, 61, of North Highlands, was sentenced to a term of 38 months (time served) for distribution of cocaine base.

On September 3, 2024, Tyrone Anderson, 44, of Sacramento, was sentenced to 135 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute at least 5,000 grams of cocaine and 280 grams of cocaine base and for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.

Charges are pending against Yovanny Ontiveros, 41, of Sacramento, and Wilmer Harden, 52, of Elk Grove. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. The Sacramento Strike Force is a co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Sacramento Strike Force is to identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle the most significant drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) shipping narcotics, firearms, and money through the Eastern District of California, thereby reducing the flow of these criminal resources in California and the rest of the United States. The Sacramento Strike Force leads intelligence-driven investigations targeting the leadership and support elements of these DTOs and TCOs operating within the Eastern District of California, regardless of their geographic base of operations.

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