Shantaja S. Hutchins (top left), Leroy B. Riggsbee (bottom left), Joseph A. Raby (right) were among the six defendants charged on April 12 with drug-related crimes
(WARREN COUNTY DETENTION CENTER)
BOWLING GREEN – A federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned a six-count indictment on April 12, 2023, charging six defendants with methamphetamine trafficking and conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge, R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Director Tommy Loving of the Bowling Green/Warren County Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) Drug Task Force made the announcement.
According to the indictment, the following six defendants were each charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine between June 1, 2022, and March 7, 2023:
Leroy B. Riggsbee, 38, of Bowling Green
Shantaja S. Hutchins, 46, of Bowling Green
Jeffery W. Glass, 50, of Bowling Green
Tyler P. Houchens, 28, of Glasgow
Brandon T. Trent, 24, of Bowling Green
Joseph A. Raby, 40, of Bowling Green
Each defendant also faces additional charges. Riggsbee and Glass are charged with aiding and abetting each other in the distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on June 28, 2022.
Riggsbee is charged with distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on August 24, 2022.
Riggsbee and Houchens are charged with aiding and abetting each other in the possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on September 22, 2022. Trent, Raby, Riggsbee, and Hutchins are all charged with aiding and abetting each other in the possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on January 4, 2023.
Antoine Bass, 40, of Bowling Green, who was not charged in the conspiracy, was charged with Hutchins for aiding and abetting each other in the distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine on March 7, 2023.
Riggsbee, Hutchins, Glass, Houchens, Trent, and Raby all face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Bass faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
The ATF Bowling Green Field Office and the Bowling Green/Warren County Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) Drug Task Force are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Yurchisin II, of the U.S. Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, is prosecuting this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
