Three drug company members convicted of federal drug crimes

May 25—The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma recently announced that three “members of a pharmaceutical company have been convicted of federal drug crimes.”

Donald Paul Spittler, 42, Holdenville; Susan Melody Saxon, 49, Shawnee; and Danna Lavon McCarley, 38, Ardmore; were convicted on federal drug charges.

Spittler was sentenced to 360 months in prison for one count of drug conspiracy, Saxon was sentenced to 63 months in prison for one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and McCarley was sentenced to 63 months in prison for one count of drug conspiracy.

The charges stem from investigations by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the District 22 Drug Task Force.

Spittler and McCarley each pleaded guilty in January 2023 to one count of drug conspiracy. Saxon pleaded guilty in February 2023 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to investigators, Spittler, Saxon and McCarley participated in a scheme to obtain and distribute methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. In January 2022, McCarley used a vehicle owned by Spittler and Saxon to travel to El Centro, California.

In El Centro, McCarley obtained a large quantity of methamphetamine, divided it into separate packages, and sent the packages via priority mail overnight. The packages were addressed to residences in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The U.S. Postal Service flagged the packages as suspicious and a narcotics dog alerted on the packages. USPIS investigators obtained and executed a search warrant finding a package addressed to Spittler at a residence associated with

Saxon contained nearly 3,000 grams of methamphetamine; a second package addressed to McCarley contained more than 2,000 grams of methamphetamine.

Law enforcement officers replaced the original packages with fake packages and carried out the controlled deliveries. Agents executed federal search warrants at the residences, which led to the discovery of additional quantities of methamphetamine, scales and cash, according to the Eastern District.

“Methamphetamine continues to be one of the most dangerous and prevalent illicit drugs in Oklahoma, tearing families apart and ruining lives as it enters our neighborhoods,” said Special Agent in Charge the DEA in Dallas, Eduardo A. Chávez, who heads operations in Oklahoma. , said. “Defendants Spittler, Saxon and McCarley are now learning the hard way that the strong law enforcement partnerships in eastern Oklahoma will always ensure that justice prevails.”

“USPIS seeks to rid the mail of illicit drug trafficking and associated violence, to preserve the integrity of the mail, and most importantly, to provide a safe environment for postal employees and customers of the service postal service, namely the American public,” said the inspector in charge. Kai Pickens of the Fort Worth Division. “We are grateful for our partnerships with the DEA, OBN, District 22 Drug Task Force and USAO. We will continue to pursue those who seek to use the mail system to traffic illicit drugs. We will continue our long tradition of protection. the postal system and effectively enforce the laws of this nation.

“We cannot overstate the importance of these collaborative investigations,” said OBN Director Donnie Anderson. “Methamphetamine continues to be a leading cause of drug-related deaths in Oklahoma. My agency is committed to working alongside our state and federal partners to target, arrest and prosecute those responsible for its distribution of meth on the streets of Oklahoma.”

“I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the dedicated state and federal law enforcement agencies who were involved in this investigation, and secondly, I want to recognize the excellent work of our partner prosecutors in the Eastern District, particularly the Department of AUSA Erin Cornell,” said District 22 District Attorney Erik Johnson, representing Pontotoc, Seminole and Hughes.

Counties. “We fight a daily battle to keep dangerous drugs from entering our communities, and working collaboratively on cases like this is becoming the new normal and making our efforts much more effective.”

“I commend the DEA, OBN, District 22 Drug Task Force, and USPIS for their collaboration and excellent investigative work in dismantling this drug trafficking organization,” the U.S. Attorney said Christopher J. Wilson. “Our collective mission remains to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into our communities and hold drug distributors accountable.”

John F. Heil, III, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. The defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a sentence of incarceration without the possibility of parole.

Assistant United States Attorney Erin Cornell represented the United States.