KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – UPDATE: All 11 defendants involved in a large Kalamazoo and Battle Creek-area drug operation have been sentenced, according to a report from the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Michigan Wednesday.
This update comes after the last of the 11 involved individuals were convicted of charges last December.
After a four-day trial that began on December 4, 2020, Ricardo Mercado-Lozano and Stacey Parcell Gibson were convicted for their roles in the scheme. The organization was fronted by Battle Creek resident Andrew Bravo.
Ricardo Mercado-Lozano was the last of the 11 to be sentenced. According to the Attorney’s Office, he will serve 24 years and four months in prison on conspiracy and distribution related charges.
The organization distributed various drugs throughout the areas of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek between May 2017 and December 2019 when a bust occurred.
Bravo later pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 264 months in prison last October.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge said Mercado-Lozano would supply the substances to Bravo, who would later distribute them in those areas. Meanwhile, Stacey Parcell Gibson would receive drugs from Bravo for distribution in Battle Creek.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Birge issued the following statement:
“These convictions and sentences are the result of a long-term, multi-agency investigation into the drug trafficking of Andrew Bravo and his co-conspirators, who distributed cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana, among other controlled substances, into the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo communities for years.
The U.S Attorney’s Office is committed to bringing traffickers of dangerous drugs to justice no matter how long it takes. Our local communities are now safer with these individuals off the streets.”
The Attorney’s Office listed all 11 defendants and the sentences they have received. They can be viewed below:
- Andrew Rolando Bravo (Battle Creek) – 264 months in prison
- Ricardo Mercado-Lozano (Greenwood, IN) – 292 months in prison
- Mark Anthony Mosley (Battle Creek) – 200 months in prison
- Christopher Michael Dreams (Battle Creek) – 168 months in prison
- Rodney C. Compton, Jr. (Kalamaz00) – 100 months in prison
- Erineo Wallace (Lansing) – 60 months in prison
- Troy Edward Bush (Kalamazoo) – 120 months in prison
- Stacey Parcell Gibson (Battle Creek) – 84 months in prison
- Wayne Henry Hawley (Battle Creek) – 120 months in prison
- Cory Karl Cadieux (Hudsonville) – 37 months in prison
- Jeremiah E. Smith (Kalamazoo) – Time served and 1-year supervised release
More information about the case can be found here.
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