DAYTON, OH – A Houston man is heading to federal prison for a decade and change after being convicted of running a multi-state cocaine operation. Robert W. Stroud, 45, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in U.S. District Court for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and violating the terms of his supervised release from a prior conviction.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman for the Southern District of Ohio and DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon announced the sentence handed down by Judge Walter H. Rice. The case, built on evidence gathered between September 2016 and June 2017, revealed Stroud’s role as the central figure in a scheme to move over 15 kilograms of cocaine throughout the Southern District of Ohio and beyond.
Court documents detail how Stroud, on June 15, 2017, directed the procurement of nearly five kilograms of cocaine from a supplier near Chicago. He didn’t get his hands dirty directly. Instead, he leaned on co-defendant Jordan Smith, who drove from Dayton to Bolingbrook, Illinois, to complete the transaction. Smith, acting on Stroud’s orders and using money provided by the Texan, handed over cash to the supplier and took possession of the substantial cocaine shipment.
The operation didn’t last long. Law enforcement swiftly intercepted Smith during a traffic stop in Illinois, seizing the roughly five kilograms of cocaine before it could reach Dayton streets. The bust was a direct result of the DEA’s investigation into Stroud’s network, revealing a calculated effort to profit from the illegal drug trade.
Adding to Stroud’s woes, the new conspiracy charge was compounded by the fact he was already on supervised release stemming from a 2009 firearm conviction in Cincinnati. Judge Rice factored this violation into the sentencing, resulting in an 11-year sentence for the drug conspiracy and an additional year for the supervised release breach. A $10,000 fine was also imposed.
The investigation continues to yield results, with co-defendants Jordan Smith and Kenneth Thompkins having already pleaded guilty and awaiting their own sentences. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Hunter and Andrew J. Hunt led the prosecution, while the DEA spearheaded the investigation. This case serves as a stark reminder that those who seek to flood our communities with drugs will face the full weight of federal law.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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