04/30/2025
M**H AND FENTANYL TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Heath Lloyd Taylor, age 46, of LeFlore County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison for Drug Conspiracy.
Taylor’s co-defendants were sentenced at hearings held between October 16, 2024, and April 25, 2025. Seven members of the drug trafficking organization were sentenced for Drug Conspiracy:
Aaron Guy Key, age 47, of Poteau, Oklahoma (240 months);
Travis Austin Powers, age 38, of Anderson, South Carolina (168 months);
Mallory Nicole Laird, age 37, of Poteau, Oklahoma (130 months);
Terri Angela Stroud, age 53, of Spiro, Oklahoma (70 months);
Kandi Anne Hankins, age 43, of Idabel, Oklahoma (57 months);
Tracie Ann Sells, age 55, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma (41 months); and
Jeremy Paul Newman, age 47, of Poteau, Oklahoma (24 months).
Five additional members of the drug trafficking organization were sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances:
Taylor Dain Parnell Caldwell, age 35, of Poteau, Oklahoma (151 months);
Cody Wade Reece, age 34, of Poteau, Oklahoma (151 months);
Heather Leigh Brown, age 35, of McAlester, Oklahoma (87 months);
Whitney Marie Granite, age 37, of Spiro, Oklahoma (58 months); and
Randi Shawn Gann, age 35, of Heavener, Oklahoma (57 months).
According to investigators, between August 2022 and November 2023, Heath Lloyd Taylor, who was serving time in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, led a drug trafficking organization operating in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. As part of that conspiracy, non-incarcerated members obtained, stored, and distributed over 25 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 465 grams of fentanyl from a base of stash houses. The stash houses also served as a base of operations where the defendants funneled drug proceeds, stored drug trafficking assets, and obtained and stored fi****ms.
This joint investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, working in cooperation with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General, the Bureau of Alcohol, To***co, Fi****ms and Explosives, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
Additionally, several law enforcement agencies contributed at various stages of the investigation, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the District 16 Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the District 18 Drug and Violent Crime Taskforce, the Poteau Police Department, the Spiro Police Department, the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police, the Seminole Police Department, the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office, the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshals Service.
“There should never be any doubt that there are countless victims of drug trafficking, and the violence associated with it,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chavez, who oversees DEA operations in Oklahoma. “Defendant Taylor and his associates took advantage of individuals and showed no concern for those who stood in their path of destruction. Sentences of this nature are a win for our victims and a warning to drug traffickers.”
“Drug trafficking and the illegal activity associated with it continues to threaten the safety of the general public throughout our communities. Life in a federal prison should serve as a reminder to those who think they fly under the radar that they are and will continue to be our target. ATF remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to keep illegal substances out of our communities and investigating those responsible,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims.
“This was an outstanding joint investigation with our state and federal partners to dismantle and prosecute a complex criminal organization,” said OBN Director Donnie Anderson. “We want this to send a strong message that we will aggressively pursue those who think they can safely run their criminal network while behind bars.”
“The sentencings announced today conclude a months-long investigation and prosecution of a nefarious group that distributed large quantities of dangerous narcotics in and around the Poteau area,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Thanks to the cooperative work of federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement, Taylor and his co-defendants are off the streets and their drug operation has ended.”
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and the Honorable Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, sitting by designation, presided over the hearings. Defendants are in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Cornell and Jordan Howanitz represented the United States.
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 netwo
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