Maurice Schanta Carson, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Michigan 2021

A Kalamazoo man has been handed a 23-year prison sentence for his involvement in methamphetamine trafficking and firearms possession. Maurice Schanta Carson, 50, was sentenced on [no specific date] in the Western District of Michigan.

Carson’s charges and conviction stemmed from his arrest on February 3, 2021, on outstanding warrants in Kalamazoo County. Inside Carson’s vehicle, investigators found a backpack containing over a pound of methamphetamine, a digital scale, and a loaded pistol.

At the time of his arrest, Carson was serving a probationary sentence issued in 2020 by the Ninth Circuit Court in Kalamazoo County for possession of methamphetamine. A search warrant of Carson’s residence later that day yielded more methamphetamine, more firearms, and cash from drug trafficking.

Carson was later rearrested on February 10, 2021, where he was found in possession of approximately a pound of methamphetamine and a rifle. He was lodged in Kalamazoo County on local charges but made bond.

Carson was charged by federal indictment and detained in federal custody pending resolution of his federal charges. He was investigated by the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team as a pound-level distributor of methamphetamine in and around Kalamazoo.

According to U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney, Carson’s sentence of 23 years is due to his history of crime, which began at the age of 16. Carson had the highest criminal history possible under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and was deemed a threat to the law-abiding public.

‘Methamphetamine is a scourge in the Western District of Michigan,’ and ‘firearms and drugs are a toxic mix,’ stated U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge, who noted that methamphetamine has flooded Western Michigan and that those who traffic in it face lengthy prison terms.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team.

The defendant’s exact criminal charges were possession with intent to distribute over a pound of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Maurice Schanta Carson’s real full name is the defendant/respondent in this case, and he is a 50-year-old man from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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