Date: November 29, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov NASHVILLE — A joint investigation by federal and local law enforcement has resulted in the indictment of six individuals for illegally distributing substantial quantities of controlled substances in and around Nashville, Tennessee, announced United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee. The indictment, which was unsealed today, charges Julius Johnson, Amber Shadonna Johnson, David Marsh, Antonio Jumper, Archie Henry, and Eldred Howard, all residents of Davidson County, Tennessee, with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana. Julius Johnson, Amber Shadonna Johnson, and Eldred Howard are also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime and possession of a firearm by a felon. As part of the investigation, in April 2023, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at multiple locations throughout Nashville, including a residence in North Nashville where substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine were recovered. In total, over the course of the months-long investigation, law enforcement recovered approximately 2.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 600 grams of fentanyl, 200 grams of cocaine, and 45 grams of marijuana. Federal agents also recovered four firearms. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, with meaningful assistance from the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, the Dickson County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nani M. Gilkerson is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
