Three Generations of Family Convicted of Trafficking More
Than One Ton of Marijuana

JUN 18 -- PHOENIX – Elizabeth W. Kempshall, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Phoenix Field Division and Dennis Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona announced today that Kingsley Lloyd Bowen, 66, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was found guilty by a federal jury in Phoenix of conspiracy to possess at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, conspiracy to destroy or remove property to prevent seizure, and destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure.  The trial before United States District Court Judge Susan R. Bolton began on June 2, 2010, and the jury returned its verdict on June 16, 2010.

Earlier this year, Kingsley’s daughter, Sandra Marie Bowen, 40, of Chandler, Ariz., her boyfriend, Christopher Anthony Williams, 36, of Chandler Ariz. and Kingsley’s grandson, Dillon Ornim Clarke, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to distribute marijuana as well as other related charges.

All the defendants are being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending sentencing.  The sentencing hearings for Dillon Ornim Clarke and Christopher Anthony Williams will be before Judge Bolton on June 28, 2010.  The sentencing hearings for Kingsley Lloyd Bowen and Sandra Marie Bowen will be before Judge Bolton on August 30, 2010.

The evidence at the trial showed that the family’s drug trafficking organization mailed wholesale quantities of marijuana from Arizona to purchasers in Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and other states.  According to drug ledger analysis performed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the family trafficked in at least 6,900 pounds of marijuana.  The proceeds of drug trafficking activities were laundered through 23 bank accounts, including six bank accounts opened under the name of shell business organizations.  The evidence at trial showed that more than $900,000 in cash had been deposited into bank accounts associated with the defendants, and additionally that the drug trafficking organization spent and maintained on-hand large amounts of cash.

A conviction for conspiracy to possess at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, or both. A conviction for possession of at least 100 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute carries a maximum penalty of 40 years of imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, or both.  In determining the actual sentences, Judge Bolton will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges.  The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

The investigation leading to the guilty verdict and pleas was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service-CI, the Mesa Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Tempe Police Department, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Kory A. Langhofer, Krissa Lanham, and Glenn B. McCormick, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

.# # #