A Homeland Security Task Force crackdown in Dallas has ended with 13 people headed to federal prison and a combined 915 months of sentences for drug trafficking and unlawful firearms offenses. Prosecutors and local police say the cases grew out of a multiagency probe that disrupted a network funneling kilograms of narcotics and illegal weapons into Dallas neighborhoods.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the defendants were convicted of dealing drugs, conspiring to deal drugs and unlawfully possessing firearms. The office says the court issued the final sentence in the matter on May 7, 2026, capping a Homeland Security Task Force initiative led locally by the FBI Dallas and the Dallas Police Department.
Seized Drugs, Guns and Cash
As posted by FBI Dallas, investigators seized 4.1 kilograms of marijuana, 2.3 kilograms of cocaine, 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 282 grams of crack cocaine, and 6.1 grams of fentanyl over the course of the investigation. Agents and officers also recovered 12 firearms, two Glock conversion switches, and $11,985 in U.S. currency during search warrants and other investigative activity carried out by FBI Dallas and the Dallas Police Department’s task forces.
Sentences and Suspects
Sentences ranged from time served, about 13½ months, up to 240 months for Edward Williams. Other federal prison terms included Xavier Barnes, 92 months, Courtney Smith, 87 months, Jordan Davis, 87 months, Brandon Bedford, 87 months, Lucis Lugo, 57 months, Alicia Slaughter, 57 months, Davonia Hart, 50 months, Perry Taylor, 42 months, Dmarcus Quartez Roderick Moton, 40 months, Ladarius Holly, 37 months, and Sebastian Medlock, 26 months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The office says the 13 sentences add up to a combined 915 months in custody.
What the Homeland Security Task Force Is
The U.S. Attorney’s statement says the prosecutions were part of the Homeland Security Task Force, or HSTF, initiative created under Executive Order 14159. The Federal Register text of that order directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish HSTFs around the country to target transnational criminal organizations, cartels, human-smuggling rings, and other networks that traffic drugs and weapons.
Local Policing and Next Steps
The operation was tied to a local Violent Crime Reduction Plan that used hot-spot policing across 47 neighborhoods identified by a university analysis, as Patch reported from the U.S. Attorney’s release. Prosecutors framed the results as an example of federal and local partners using targeted enforcement to remove dangerous drugs and illegal firearms from Dallas streets.
