Drug Ring Defendants Spend Day in Federal Court
By: Import User
Updated: July 13, 2009
More than twenty suspects arrested in Friday's drug bust in Levelland spent the day in court. Right now, they are all charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, but there are several more charges for a select few in the group.
Authorities say since January of 2003 more than twenty suspects were involved in the drug ring that took cash to California to buy mass amounts of meth. The indictment - just released Monday - accuses the group of bringing meth into Levelland where it was weighed, packaged and distributed across the South Plains and then sold for money, guns and sexual favors. Authorities say the ringleader of the group is Aces and Eights Outlaw Motorcycle Gang founder Bobby Froman. Also arrested for involvement in the ring - former Hockley County Sheriff's Deputies Gordan Bohannon and Jesse Quintanilla, both believed to have used their positions to keep the drug ring going. The district attorney says those two men informed members of the ring if their homes were under surveilance or about to be searched. Bohannon is also accused of using his position in the Hockley County Sheriff's Office to get Froman's pending state methamphetamine prosecution dismissed earlier this year. Sheriff David Kinney had no idea his men were involved in the ring.
"I signed a consent to have them search everything I have in this sheriff's office, just anything they want to look it. We don't hide anything, I'm not gonna hide anything," says Kinney.
The group will be back in court in two weeks for their bail hearing.
Authorities say since January of 2003 more than twenty suspects were involved in the drug ring that took cash to California to buy mass amounts of meth. The indictment - just released Monday - accuses the group of bringing meth into Levelland where it was weighed, packaged and distributed across the South Plains and then sold for money, guns and sexual favors. Authorities say the ringleader of the group is Aces and Eights Outlaw Motorcycle Gang founder Bobby Froman. Also arrested for involvement in the ring - former Hockley County Sheriff's Deputies Gordan Bohannon and Jesse Quintanilla, both believed to have used their positions to keep the drug ring going. The district attorney says those two men informed members of the ring if their homes were under surveilance or about to be searched. Bohannon is also accused of using his position in the Hockley County Sheriff's Office to get Froman's pending state methamphetamine prosecution dismissed earlier this year. Sheriff David Kinney had no idea his men were involved in the ring.
"I signed a consent to have them search everything I have in this sheriff's office, just anything they want to look it. We don't hide anything, I'm not gonna hide anything," says Kinney.
The group will be back in court in two weeks for their bail hearing.
