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Local Drug Trafficker Gets Life in Prison for His Role in Murder-for-Hire Plot
HOUSTON – A 50-year-old man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for perpetrating multiple violent crimes related to a drug trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal jury deliberated for six hours before returning the guilty verdicts on all counts against Ronald Brown, aka Nuk, Nook or Nookie, after a six-day trial. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, intentional killing related to drug trafficking, two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a murder, kidnapping and using a firearm in relation to the kidnapping as well as conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ordered Brown to serve life in federal prison and recommended that he be confined in a communications management unit to ensure heightened monitoring of Brown’s external and internal communications.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Brown was responsible for moving as much as 100 to 200 kilograms of cocaine each week from Houston to Atlanta, Georgia, on 18-wheeler trucks and car haulers. The jury heard testimony from several witnesses who worked directly for Brown and were involved in his drug trafficking operation.
Brown was also involved in a murder-for-hire plot after his cocaine shipment was stolen in 2014. He hired a shooter and provided him with a handgun to kill the victim, who was shot at close range in the parking lot of a grocery store. Brown met the shooter and middleman in the parking lot and paid them $20,000.
The defense attempted to convince the jury that other members of Brown’s drug trafficking organization orchestrated the kidnapping and murder. However, the jury did not believe those claims and found Brown guilty as charged. He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance from the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division, Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Parole Division, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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