(AP) Two Michigan men have pleaded guilty to their roles in a conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilos of cocaine and 1 kilo of heroin in South Mississippi.
Clifford Barnette Jones Jr., 25, of Roseville, and Mark Anthony Williams Sr., 45, of Harper Woods, pleaded guilty last week to one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering.
Both are facing a maximum prison sentence of 5 years and a $250,000 fine. They are set for sentencing in July.
A federal grand jury indicted the two along with Clifford Barnette Jones Sr., 56, of Pasadena, California, on count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and interstate travel in aid of racketeering along with two counts each attempt to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
According to the indictment, the conspiracy began in April 2013 and continued through March.
An investigation began after a confidential informant began communicating with the elder Jones about selling numerous kilos of cocaine.
An undercover DEA agent later met the elder Jones in Waveland and showed him some cocaine, then gave him a bank account number to deposit money to cover any drug deals. The three wanted buy the cocaine in South Mississippi so they could deliver it to someone in Detroit.
The trio, records say, deposited a total of $65,000 into the DEA account between April 25, 2013, and Feb. 10, 2014, to buy cocaine and heroin. On Feb. 24, they met an undercover officer in a casino parking lot and handed over $35,000 to buy 5 kilos of cocaine and 1 kilo of heroin.
