Memphis Man Sentenced to 115 Months in Prison
for Conspiracy
to Possess with the Intent to Distribute
at Least 100 Kilograms of Marijuana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2010

Memphis, TN - On April 19, 2010, United States District Judge Bernice B. Donald sentenced Alexander Cook, age 23, of Memphis, Tennessee, to 115 months in federal prison following Cook’s guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute at least 100 kilograms of marijuana, announced Lawrence J. Laurenzi, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

From at least in or about April of 2003 until on or about November 20, 2008, Cook (together with at least eleven indicted co-conspirators) conspired to possess with the intent to distribute at least 100 kilograms of marijuana. Following an investigation called “Operation California Roll” in Tennessee and California, Cook was arrested on January 7, 2009. A federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment on February 24, 2009.

The case was initiated by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and referred to the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”). Operation California Roll was headed by the DEA Drug Task Force (which consists of officers from the DEA, the Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Millington Police Department, the Germantown Police Department, the Bartlett Police Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the 30th Judicial District Drug Task Force), with assistance from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Memphis Police Department. In addition to the agencies listed above, assistance in this investigation was provided by the United States Marshal’s Service, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group 46 Drug Task Force in Los Angeles (which consists of officers from DEA, ICE, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office), the Montebello Police Department, the Redondo Beach Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Officer Michael Chipman, a Memphis Police Department officer assigned to the DEA Task Force, led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Arun G. Rao handled the case for the government.