A federal jury in Owensboro has convicted two local men of methamphetamine trafficking offenses. They will be sentenced in January and could each face up to life in prison.
Cedric Swanagan, 37, and Courtland Reed, 32, were both found guilty of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, 37-year-old Cedric Swanagan and 32-year-old Courtland Reed were convicted of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine between September 2021 and April 4, 2022, in Daviess County and elsewhere. The jury also convicted both Swanagan and Reed of possession with the intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine on February 22, 2022, in Daviess County and elsewhere.
“The evidence presented at trial included recorded phone calls between the defendants that were intercepted during a federal wiretap investigation and evidence involving approximately 876 grams of pure methamphetamine associated with the defendants,” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
Western District of Kentucky.
According to the release, the jury further found that Swanagan had committed one serious drug felony and that Reed had committed one serious drug felony and one violent felony prior to committing the offenses in this case. These findings increased the mandatory minimum sentences for both defendants.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 25, 2024, before a United States District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky. Swanagan and Reed both remain in federal custody pending sentencing. Swanagan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison. Reed faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
The announcement about the conviction was made by U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Sheila G. Lyons of the DEA Chicago Field Division, and Chief Art Ealum of the Owensboro Police Department.
According to a release from OPD, on April 13, 2022, significant arrests were made as the result of an ongoing and long-term drug investigation with multi-jurisdictional cooperation. The long-term investigation resulted in the execution of eight search warrants at locations throughout the Daviess County area. Additionally, 11 subjects were arrested on federal indictments and three subjects are being held on State drug-related charges.
Additional charges and arrests are expected as this investigation continues, according to OPD.
The DEA and OPD investigated this case, with assistance from the FBI, ATF, Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Indiana State Police, the Kentucky State Police, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, the McLean County Sheriff’s Office, and the Owensboro-Daviess County Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) Task Force.
