LANSING — Federal officials says they’ve wrapped up a case involving a multi-state drug trafficking ring with connections to Lansing.
Merria Wallace, a Florida woman with “significant ties” to Lansing, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on July 2 for her role in the conspiracy, court records indicate. She was the last defendant to be sentenced in the case.
U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering said Wallace played an important role in an operation responsible for distributing “significant quantities” of methamphetamine and cocaine in Michigan, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Jason Demyers, an Arizona man who officials described as the ringleader of the operation and also had ties to Lansing, was sentenced to 27 years in prison in February. They said the group distributed cocaine and meth in the Detroit, Lansing and Kalamazoo areas between August 2022 and July 2024.
Fourteen people were charged in the case. Twelve pleaded guilty, while two have entered a pretrial diversion program.
Wallace, 42, of West Park, Florida, was the “logistics manager” in the conspiracy, tracking packages with about 10 kilograms of meth to Michigan from California, officials said. She also booked flights for operatives to fly thousands of dollars in drug proceeds to California and then return to Michigan with drugs, including cocaine., they said.
“On multiple occasions, Wallace even traveled herself, transporting drug money on behalf of one of the conspiracy’s leaders, Jason Demyers,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the release.
Investigators seized approximately 10 kilos of meth, eight kilos of cocaine, multiple pieces of real property and jewelry worth about $325,000, officials said.The Drug Enforcement Administration, Lansing police, Internal Revenue Service and Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the investigation, officials said.
Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Woman with ties to Lansing gets 10 years in prison in federal drug case
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
