From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge sentenced a Birmingham man on drug and gun charges, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley.
U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced Kendrell Maurice Bell, 28, to 200 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Bell pleaded guilty to the charges in July.
“This sentence sends a message to those who deal dangerous drugs in our communities and protect those drugs with firearms,” Escalona said. “Federal, state, and local partners will work together, as they did in this case, to prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law and send them to prison for a very long time.”
According to the plea agreement, Bell distributed cocaine to a confidential informant on two separate occasions in January and February 2022. On Feb. 1, search warrants were obtained for two locations that Bell used as part of his trafficking operation, including his home, and the warrants were executed the following day.
Pursuant to the execution of those warrants, officers recovered cocaine, $333,765 in cash, a vacuum sealer, a money counter, a hydraulic brick press, multiple firearms and approximately 2,800 grams of pure methamphetamine. Two vehicles at Bell’s residence, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Dodge Challenger, were discovered to be stolen.
In April 2022, in preparing to arrest Bell on the federal charges from the above-described criminal activities, agents began conducting surveillance to ascertain his whereabouts.
During the surveillance, agents determined that Bell had resumed drug trafficking, using his primary residence to store drug proceeds, and a residence on 18th Way SW to store narcotics.
Bell was arrested on the federal charges on April 29, at his residence, where agents recovered oxycodone pills, a digital scale, two firearms and $164,754 in cash.
Agents recovered multiple firearms, marijuana, a brick press of the same make and model as the brick press previously seized during the February 2022 warrant, and cash at the “stash house” located on 18th Way SW. Agents also recovered plastic baggies containing heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine from a hidden compartment inside a vehicle located at the 18thWay SW residence.
The judge entered an order of forfeiture for two firearms and $501,519 in cash, which represented drug proceeds, used in the commission of Bell’s crimes.
DEA investigated the case, along with the Birmingham Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Garnett prosecuted the case.