CLEVELAND – A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking substantial amounts of controlled substances and for illegal possession of a firearm.
Phillip Moreland, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 180 months (15 years) in prison and five years of supervised released by U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan after pleading guilty in May to:
• Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine (2 counts)
• Felon in Possession of a Firearm; prior convictions include Drug Possession, Failure to Comply, and Felonious Assault in 2008, and Tampering with Evidence and Drug Possession in 2016.
• Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
During the investigation, officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Moreland for speed and illegal tint violations. Moreland initially complied with the officers’ commands but then began to flee on foot. As officers pursued Moreland, he was observed removing a bag with blue pills from his pocket and throwing it into an open field. He jumped several fences and evaded arrest. During an inventory search of his car, officers found a loaded pistol under the driver seat, two cellphones, two bottles of alcohol, and a plastic bag containing a purple powder which later tested positive for more than 1,500 grams of methamphetamine. The bag thrown into the field was retrieved and later tested positive for more than 55 grams of methamphetamine in pill form. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Moreland and he was later apprehended at his home where additional controlled substances, scales, and a cutting agent was located. Several cellphones were seized and searched pursuant to federal search warrants, yielding evidence of a drug trafficking conspiracy involving Moreland and co-defendant Deonte Dillard, 34, of Cleveland.
Dillard is currently serving a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to his role in this drug trafficking operation.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration Cleveland Resident Office with assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hanna led the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Northern District of Ohio — U.S. Department of Justice press release.