Press Release
United States Attorney James R. Dedrick
Eastern District of Tennessee
CONTACT: SHARRY DEDMAN-BEARD
PHONE: 865-545-4167
FAX: 865-545-4176
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 24, 2006
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES RECEIVE
EQUITABLE SHARING IN LARGE-SCALE DRUG MANUFACTURING CASES
(Dayton, TN) - On Monday, July 24, 2006, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee held a press conference at the Rhea County Sheriff's Department in Dayton to distribute to local law enforcement agencies the proceeds of forfeited properties involved in the case of United States v. Titus Reed. Receiving checks at todays ceremony were the Rhea County Sheriff's Department in the amount of $182,935.99 and Hamilton County Sheriff's Department in the amount of
$31,138.04.
Reed was charged in a ten count federal Indictment on July 12, 2005, with marijuana, fireams and financial structuring offenses. The Indictment further charged that in committing the felony offenses alleged above, and upon conviction of the same, Reed shall forfeit to the United States any and all property used, or intended to be used, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of a violation of 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846, including, but not limited to, the following property: (1) real property located at 602 Old Grandview Highway, Grandview, TN; (2) real property located on Baker Lane, Dayton, TN; (3) real property located at 5687 Dogwood Road, Grandview, TN; (4) real property located on Scott Ford Road, Bledsoe County, TN; and (5) real property located on Rabbit Creek Road, Bledsoe County, TN.
Reed pleaded guilty to eight of the ten counts he was charged with on the morning of trial, including the following offenses, manufacturing 1000 or more marijuana plants in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a) and (b)(1)(A), manufacturing 100 or more marijuana plants in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B), possessing with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(D), maintaining a drug establishment, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 856, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug offense in violation of 18 U.S.C 924c, being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and evading monetary reporting requirements in violation of 31 U.S.C. 5324.
As a result of a guilty plea in United States District Court in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Titus Reed, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison on March 6, 2006. Additionally, on March 6, 2006, an Amended Agreed Order of Forfeiture, was entered whereas Reed agreed to pay $391,500.00 in United States currency in lieu of the forfeiture of his properties located on Old Grandview Highway and Baker Lane.
The evidence established that Reed grew marijuana in several fields he owned in Rhea, Bledsoe and Cumberland Counties. After Reed cultivated the marijuana, he packaged and sold it to others in the area, using his residence in Grandview, Tennessee as a center for his activities. Reed was well known to law enforcement agencies in East Tennessee and had been convicted of marijuana offenses in the past. The Rhea County Sheriff's Department and Hamilton County Sheriff's Department were partners in this investigation with two federal agencies, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Several other local agencies in this area provided support from time to time during the course of the investigation. The amount of proceeds distributed to the Rhea County Sheriff's Department's is over $180,000, due to the extensive role they played in the investigation.
In addition to the checks distributed to the Rhea County Sheriff's Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department today, the following agencies will also be receiving proceeds of the equitable sharing in this case: Chattanooga Police Department; Internal Revenue Service-CID; Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.