Street gang leader enters guilty plea on fentanyl-related charge, U.S. District Attorney says
(CBS DETROIT) – A Texas man named as leader of a street gang operating in Michigan has pleaded guilty to drug-related charges, the U.S. District Attorney's office for Eastern Michigan reported.
Tamarious "Poogi" Faulkner, 28, Houston, was said to lead the "Thorough Bread Family," a violent street gang that primarily operated in Michigan, the report said. He is scheduled for sentencing in federal court, and faces a sentence ranging from 10 years in prison to life in prison.
The charge was conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck said Tuesday.
Other officials who joined in the announcement were James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Detroit Field Division; Colonel James F. Grady, II, Michigan State Police; Director Elmer J. Hitt, Jackson Police and Fire Services; and Sheriff Gary Schuette, Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
In his plea, Faulkner admitted that he was the leader of the conspiracy and that he and his co-conspirators distributed large amounts of fentanyl in Jackson. According to court documents, the fentanyl sold by the gang had a unique texture and coloring. Unlike most fentanyl, typically sold in powder form and appearing to be white, this fentanyl was sold in a rock-like crystalline form, and was often colored yellow, purple or blue.
The gang members also possessed firearms and machine guns, the press release said.
Six other co-conspirators, all of whom live in Jackson, have already been sentenced in this case.
"As is so often the case when drugs and gangs intersect, TBF wreaked havoc on a community by peddling poison and protecting their drug business with violence," Beck said in her statement.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the Michigan State Police, Jackson Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office assisted the district attorney's office with the investigation.