Zachariah Ryan Luke, Methamphetamine Conspiracy, Florida 2021

Florida Man Orchestrated Methamphetamine Deals from Behind Bars

A South Carolina man who orchestrated massive methamphetamine deals while serving a prison sentence in Florida has pleaded guilty to a federal charge.

Zachariah Ryan Luke, 28, of Bennettsville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Luke faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The exact sentence is yet to be determined.

The crime took place in November 2021, when Luke was serving a prison sentence in South Carolina for various offenses, including possession of methamphetamine. Using contraband cellphones, he communicated with an associate who assisted him with acquiring and selling the illicit substance.

On November 24, 2021, from his prison cell, Luke coordinated the delivery of approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine to a Florida-based drug dealer outside of a department store in South Carolina. The dealer received the drugs and returned to Florida, where a deputy observed a traffic offense and signaled him to pull over.

The dealer attempted to evade the deputy by speeding away and eventually abandoned his vehicle in a nearby wooded area, where he was located and arrested by deputies. After the arrest, corrections officers in South Carolina seized multiple cellphones from Luke, which he was prohibited from possessing in prison. Investigators searched those phones and recovered text communications concerning the drug deals.

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the South Carolina Department of Corrections, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, the Aiken Department of Public Safety, the North Augusta Department of Public Safety, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/south-carolina-man-who-orchestrated-drug-deals-phone-prison-pleads-guilty-conspiracy