Federal judge sentences trio to prison for trafficking ring

CLEVELAND — A federal judge has imprisoned three people, who had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and conspiracy to launder money in a Georgia-to-Youngstown drug trafficking ring that operated during 2013 and 2014.

Vincent D. Moorer, 31, of Lithonia, Ga., was sentenced Monday to eight years and four months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge James S. Gwin. Moorer will be on supervised release for four years after prison.

His co-defendants, Keyonia M. Moorer, who is his sister, and Charity A. Cousin, were sentenced to three years and four months and two years and six months in prison, respectively. Prosecutors did not provide their ages or hometowns.

Both will be on three years of supervised release after prison.

Vincent Moorer’s plea followed Judge Gwin’s denial of his motion to exclude wiretaps and an Oct. 12, 2014, traffic stop on Interstate 80 from evidence.

In the traffic stop, troopers pulled over a car, in which Moorer was a passenger, saying it had excessive window tint and had been following another vehicle too closely.

The defense complained there was no valid reason for the traffic stop, but the prosecution said it was justified because, based on earlier wiretaps of Moorer and others, authorities had reason to believe heroin might have been in the car.