A St. Louis, Missouri man on Monday admitted receiving drugs shipped to St. Louis and mailing out the resulting drug proceeds.
Timothy Carter, 35, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. His co-defendant, A.D. Harris, 31, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty to the same charge in December.
Both men admitted receiving drugs in the mail and mailing the proceeds of the drug sales. On Aug. 23, 2021, investigators spotted a suspicious package being mailed to an address in the 4800 block of Allemania Street in St. Louis. The package was shipped in a retail box for a microwave. Harris then took the package to Carter’s home in the 7300 block of Hampshire Drive.
On Sept. 8, 2021, investigators spotted a microwave box being mailed from St. Louis to Texas. A court-approve search uncovered $28,500 in drug proceeds heavily wrapped inside the shell of a microwave, Carter’s plea agreement says. Fingerprints of Harris and Carter were on the microwave, the wrappings that concealed the currency, or both.
Investigators later identified another microwave box that was being shipped to an address associated with a Harris relative. On October 4, Harris picked up the package. When law enforcement tried to stop Harris, he fled at high speed to Carter’s house. Agents followed Harris into the garage and arrested both Harris and Carter.
Investigators seized Harris’ vehicle, along with $11,000, several mobile devices, and a notebook with a drug ledger and receipts, including a receipt for the purchase of a microwave on Sept. 7, 2021. Agents recovered $4,000 in drug proceeds from a Harris relative and a package containing $7,000 in drug proceeds. A package in Harris’ vehicle contained 406.92 grams of fentanyl.
Carter is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30. Harris was sentenced in March to 87 months in prison.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey is prosecuting the case.
