Seventh Member of Houston County Drug Trafficking Organization Receives Federal Prison Sentence

Montgomery, AL - Today, Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced that a federal judge has sentenced the last of seven individuals for their roles in a drug distribution operation in Houston County, Alabama. On October 8, 2024, 63-year-old Louis Peter Kellenberger III, a resident of Dothan, Alabama received a sentence of 120 months in prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court records for each co-defendant and evidence presented at Kellenberger's trial, Michael Antonio Blackmon, also a resident of Dothan, conspired with Kellenberger and five others to obtain and sell methamphetamine from August 2021 through June 2023. An investigation revealed that Kellenberger utilized Blackmon, who was a known distributor of methamphetamine in the area, as a source of supply.

On May 7, 2024, Blackmon received a sentence of 360 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Federal guidelines called for a significant sentence for Blackmon due to his serious criminal history and the quantity of illegal drugs attributed to him. When pronouncing Blackmon's sentence, the judge also considered that Blackmon used various residences to store and sell illegal drugs and played a managerial or supervisory role in the drug distribution operation.

Other members of the conspiracy and their sentences include: 63-year-old Randall Pitts received a sentence of 188 months in prison on May 8, 2024; 38-year-old Shane Martin received a sentence of 168 months in prison on March 14, 2024; Dreshawn Shiver, 24, received a 96-month sentence on April 18, 2024; 40-year-old Antwuan Ellis received an 87 months sentence on February 22, 2024; finally, Curtis Bagwell received a sentence of 11 months on June 13, 2024. There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Dothan Police Department, and the Eufaula Police Department investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Chelsea Wilson and Mark E. Andreu prosecuted.