Drug Dealer Sentenced to a Decade in Prison

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri man who sold fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine base to a decade in prison.

Byron Green, 29, pleaded guilty in March to eight felony counts: a fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine distribution charge, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute a fentanyl analogue, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of distribution of fentanyl.

Green admitted that he was once part of the Guy Goolsby drug trafficking organization, which brought large quantities of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl to the St. Louis and Kansas City areas from Mexico via Texas and Florida. Green was a lower-level distributor within the organization. After Goolsby and his associates were charged and arrested, Green continued to obtain drugs from other members of the conspiracy and distributed fentanyl and meth from 2019 to 2023.

In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration identified homes in St. Louis and St. Charles counties that Green was using. During a May 11, 2023, court-approved search of the St. Louis County home, investigators recovered plastic bags containing more than 1,200 fentanyl capsules, two ounces of cocaine base, two pounds of meth, five ounces of pure fentanyl, $33,255 cash, four pistols and diamond-encrusted jewelry bought with drug proceeds: a "Big B" necklace, a bracelet and a Rolex watch. In the St. Charles County home, they found more fentanyl in powder and capsule form, pill presses used to make pills and 12 blenders used to mix drugs.

Green is one of more than three dozen people who were convicted based on investigations associated with the Goolsby drug trafficking organization. Over 120 pounds of cocaine, fentanyl, and meth, $2 million in drug proceeds and payments and dozens of firearms were seized by law enforcement during the broader investigation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Marshals Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Mantovani and Geoffrey S. Ogden prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.