Indiana – A California man who prosecutors said led a large marijuana distribution network reaching into northern Indiana will spend seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy and money laundering charges.
David Winchell, 48, of Rohnert Park, California, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund to 84 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. After his prison term, Winchell will serve three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $680,000 money judgment.
According to the Department of Justice, the case centered on what federal authorities described as a broad marijuana operation that moved large quantities of marijuana and marijuana-related products through the Northern District of Indiana and other areas. Prosecutors said the conspiracy involved at least 892 kilograms, or 1,966.52 pounds, of marijuana, along with 55,000 separate marijuana-related products.
United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred said Winchell was not a minor participant, but the person at the top of the operation.
“The Defendant was at the head of a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of marijuana and marijuana related products throughout the Northern District of Indiana and elsewhere. The conspiracy involved at least 892 kilograms (1,966.52 pounds) of marijuana and 55,000 separate marijuana related products and has earned him seven years and three years of supervised release,” Mildred said, according to the Department of Justice.
Investigators built the case piece by piece. Mildred said law enforcement reviewed ledgers connected to Winchell that were recovered through trash pulls and search warrants at his residence and other locations. Those records, prosecutors said, helped show marijuana sales over a two-year period.
Authorities also said Winchell tried to disguise drug proceeds by buying money orders that were used to pay personal credit cards. That financial trail became a key part of the money laundering case.
“David Winchell ran a large-scale marijuana business and tried to clean the money when it came in,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Chicago Field Office. “IRS-CI special agents followed those profits and exposed the operation for what it was. This sentence makes clear that if you try to profit from illegal sales and hide the money, you will be held accountable.”
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Chip Cooke of the Drug Enforcement Administration said the agency will keep working with law enforcement and prosecutors to hold drug traffickers responsible, adding that there is “no room in northern Indiana for those who want to commit drug crimes.”
FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley said the sentence shows that people involved in drug trafficking and efforts to hide illegal profits will be investigated and brought to justice.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas McGrath prosecuted the case. More details were released by the Department of Justice here.
