Four Men Indicted in an East Alabama Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy Led by Former Federal Defendants

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - An indictment charging four men in a drug-trafficking conspiracy based in Calhoun County has been unsealed, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr.

A 12-count indictment charges Theron Samuel Johnson, 43, Jeffrey Leon Battle, 56, and Toney Courtez Jenkins, 42-all three of Anniston, Alabama-and Samuel Lane, Jr, 49, of Oxford, Alabama, with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine base, cocaine, and marijuana between November 2023 and April 2026. They also are charged with several counts of distribution. Samuel Lane, Jr., and Toney Courtez Jenkins were also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The indictment includes special grand jury findings regarding the amount of methamphetamine attributable to the defendants as part of the drug-trafficking conspiracy. The amount of controlled substances involved in the conspiracy attributable to all four defendants is alleged to be 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

The indictment also alleges enhanced penalties based on prior convictions for several of the defendants. Theron Samuel Johnson was previously convicted of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Distribute Cocaine Base, Cocaine, and Marijuana; Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base and Marijuana; and Carrying a Firearm During and In Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime, all in a 2010 federal case in the Northern District of Alabama. Jeffrey Leon Battle was previously convicted of Conspiracy to Levy War Against the United States, in a 2002 federal case in the District of Oregon. According to publicly available information, this conviction stemmed from Battle's efforts to join the Taliban in the wake of 9/11. Samuel Lane Jr. was previously convicted of two counts of Robbery 1^st Degree.

This investigation was led by the Homeland Security Task Force, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service, 7^th Judicial Circuit Major Crimes Unit, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Anniston Police Department, Oxford Police Department, and Calhoun County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison J. Garnett is prosecuting the case.

This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The Alabama HSTF comprises agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the Internal Revenue Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama.

An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.