A federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado has indicted six individuals for their involvement in an out-of-state cannabis distribution scheme.
United States Attorney Jason Dunn on Thursday announced that a federal grand jury had returned a 53-count indictment for Delano Monroe, Solomon Chambers, Alexis Monroe, Joshua Sampson, Ashley Montgomery, and Michael Waterton, charging them with marijuana possession, distribution, money laundering, and money laundering concealment.
According to a press release from the Attorney’s Office, five of the six individuals are in custody, but Waterton is currently a fugitive from justice.
“The defendants would buy marijuana at a Colorado marijuana dispensary using medical marijuana cards,” states the release. “They would then use the U.S. Mail to send the marijuana to customers throughout the United States who ordered the marijuana using social media and other forms of communication.”
During a one-year period, the defendants purchased more than $665,000 in cannabis products and received more than $923,000 in payments from customers outside of Colorado.
USPIS agents arrested five of the six defendants on October 28, 2020, and recovered seven firearms, 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, a half-pound of methamphetamine, and approximately $10,000 in cash during subsequent searches.
Authorities recovered five other firearms earlier in the investigation.
The USPIS and ATF are conducting the investigation while Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Phillips is prosecuting the case.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, though if convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison for each count.
