A group of eight Texas men has been indicted in Waco on criminal charges related to alleged drug and gun activity. Federal grand jury indictments have been issued for Jeremiah Pittman, Shamall McDonald, Juan Christian Rodriguez-Luhan, Raeshawn Demond Roberts, Jacob Deshaun Raglin, Javion Lavelle Cooper, Tyson Charae Hawthorne, and Dantawn Richardson. They are charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Jacob Deshaun Raglin was apprehended in Arlington on Tuesday, while the remaining defendants were arrested in Waco. Dantawn Richardson was already in Waco Police custody on unrelated charges. During the arrests, law enforcement officers seized four firearms, 13 ounces of methamphetamine, and more than four pounds of marijuana.
If found guilty, each of the eight defendants could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the marijuana charge and a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison, to be served consecutively to any other prison term, for the firearm charge. The sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement of the indictments was made by U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. The case is being investigated by the Texas Anti-Gang Taskforce, which includes the FBI, Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Waco Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), McLennan County Sherriff’s Department, and McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. The Texas Anti-Gang Taskforce is a group of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors focused on reducing gang violence and dismantling gangs in the Central Texas area.
