OKC Kingpin Nammixay Gets 15 Years for Marijuana Empire

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tommy Savanh Nammixay, 41, of Oklahoma City, is headed to federal prison for a decade and a half. Nammixay was sentenced today to 180 months for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering, bringing down the curtain on a sophisticated operation that flooded Oklahoma with weed smuggled in from Colorado.

Federal prosecutors detailed how Nammixay, indicted June 19, 2019, wasn’t just moving product; he was the architect of a full-blown trafficking organization. The indictment laid out charges including possession with intent to distribute marijuana, maintaining drug houses, and even being a convicted felon illegally packing heat. The feds alleged Nammixay’s crew was importing between 1,000 and 3,000 kilograms of marijuana from illegal grows in Colorado Springs, funneling it into Oklahoma City, and then pushing it out across the state.

The bust, which went down May 20, 2019, was significant. Agents seized a staggering 100 pounds of marijuana, over $100,000 in cold, hard cash, and a cache of 45 firearms. Nammixay ultimately pleaded guilty January 13, 2020, to the drug conspiracy and money laundering charges, cutting a deal that included forfeiting the seized assets – the guns, the cash, a house on N.W. 14th Street, and multiple vehicles used in the operation.

U.S. District Court Judge Scott L. Palk didn’t pull any punches during sentencing. He cited Nammixay’s prior federal drug trafficking conviction and emphasized his central role as the leader and organizer of the criminal enterprise. The judge handed down the 180-month sentence, followed by four years of supervised release. This wasn’t a street-level operation; it was a calculated, organized effort to profit from an illegal market.

Nammixay wasn’t operating alone. Eight of his co-defendants have already received their sentences. Terry Browne, 34, of Cleveland, Oklahoma, got 12 months and one day. Lawrence Harden, 34, of Broken Arrow, also received 12 months and one day. Johnnie Vinavong, 42, of Oklahoma City, is headed to prison for 37 months. Adam Barnhart, 37, of Oklahoma City, will serve 24 months. Nathan Belcher, 23, of Norman, received 12 months and one day, as did Iliana Macias, 30, of Oklahoma City. Ralph Golden, 60, of Oklahoma City, received 60 months probation, while Andrew Eaves, Sr., 49, of Purcell, got 36 months probation.

The investigation, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Oklahoma City District Office, was a multi-agency effort, pulling in resources from the City of Norman Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigations Division, Canadian County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations Oklahoma City Office, District 21 Task Force, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and DEA offices in Colorado Springs and Tulsa. Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Snyder and David Petermann prosecuted the case, ensuring Nammixay and his crew faced justice for their criminal actions.