Central Indiana drug trafficking probe sends 11 to federal prison

(Adobe Stock)

A massive, long-term investigation by over 15 law enforcement agencies resulted in the sentencing of 11 individuals for trafficking huge amounts of illegal drugs across central Indiana, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt imposed nearly 190 years of imprisonment across all the defendants, who, according to court documents, trafficked large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine from Arizona to the Indianapolis, Anderson and Muncie areas.

“This was not just a drug bust—it was a takedown of a massive, highly organized criminal enterprise flooding central Indiana with poison on an industrial scale,” said Tom Wheeler, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, in the announcement. “Dozens of law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels worked tirelessly together, coordinating for years across jurisdictions to take down this operation.”

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Brady and Kelsey Massa prosecuted the case.

According to court documents, the organization, led by Jaraughn Bertram, 22, shipped drugs to Central Indiana through multiple couriers and by the postal service, where they were then distributed to other defendants in the state for storage, packaging and selling.

In addition to drugs, multiple illegally owned firearms and machine gun conversion devices were apprehended by law enforcement, and several defendants were discovered to have laundered the organization’s profits through CashApp, structured bank deposits and currency exchanges and by purchasing vehicles.

The investigation recovered a total of:

• 128 firearms
• 61 machine gun conversion devices
• $722,626
• 22 vehicles
• 118 pounds of meth
• 78 kilograms of fentanyl
• 501 pounds of marijuana
• 315 grams of cocaine
• 216 grams of heroin

“The defendants profited by flooding our neighborhoods with deadly drugs, leaving devastation in their wake—shattered families, lost lives, and communities in crisis,” Timothy O’Malley, FBI Indianapolis special agent in charge, said in written remarks.

After federal charges were raised in 2023, Bertram fled to Mexico, where he was killed in 2024. Another defendant, Joaquin Carranza, also fled to Mexico, where he remains a fugitive.

The 11 individuals charged in the drug ring were:

• Christopher Miller, 29, of Indianapolis, sentenced to 26 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
• Jamie Sullivan, 22, of Indianapolis, sentenced to 24 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, distribution of controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
• Tameico Johnson, 22, of Fishers, sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances.
• Jayden Bertram, 22, of Carmel, was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances.
• Courtlin Moncrief, 29, of Avon, sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances.
• Camonte Miller, 21, of Indianapolis, sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances.
• Jordan Sumner, 22, sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
• Afrika Williams, 29, of Indianapolis, sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
• Monica Sumner, 20, of Indianapolis, sentenced to 12.5 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances.
• Dewell Simpson, 18, of Indianapolis, sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and possession of a machine gun.
• Regina Weatherford, 60, of Indianapolis, sentenced to five years and five months in prison and four years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.