Member Of The Otis Sanders Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced In Federal Court

MOBILE, AL - A Mobile man, Quenton James Franklin, 28, was sentenced today in federal court on his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana as a member of the Otis Sanders drug trafficking organization. Franklin is Sanders' cousin and was charged as a co-defendant in the federal indictment. Franklin pled guilty to the conspiracy charge in August of 2024.

Sanders was convicted by a jury in May of 2023 for his participation as the leader of the organization. Evidence from the trial showed that Sanders operated a large-scale interstate drug distribution organization in south Mobile County, with ties to Biloxi, Mississippi and Houston, Texas. Sanders arranged for the acquisition of methamphetamine shipments in Houston and used couriers in private vehicles and on commercial transportation to bring the drugs to Mobile. Drug proceeds were also delivered to Houston by certain couriers. Sanders and his organization relied upon violence to further the illegal drug distribution scheme, one such incident resulting in a drive by shooting at a residence on Ramsay Road in or about May of 2023. Mobile County sheriff's deputies responding to the call discovered Sanders' abandoned Chevrolet Tahoe near the intersection of Highway 188 and Ramsay Road, riddled with bullet holes from return fire during the shoot-out. In July of 2024, Sanders was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for various violations of the drug laws.

Court documents show that Franklin was a courier in the organization involved in the transportation of at least one load of methamphetamine for Sanders from Texas to Sanders' residence in Biloxi, Mississippi. Others, and sometimes Sanders himself, transported methamphetamine from that residence to other members of the conspiracy for distribution in Mobile and elsewhere. Franklin also distributed some of Sanders' drugs to his own customer base in Mobile.

United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose sentenced Franklin to 3 years in custody. When Franklin is released from custody, he will serve a five-year term of supervised release. Franklin will be subject to search upon reasonable suspicion that he has violated the conditions of supervision, and he will also be subject to drug testing and treatment. No fine was imposed in the case, but the judge ordered that Franklin pay $100 in special assessments.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security, the Beaumont Police (Texas) Department, the St. Tammany Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff's Office, and the Mobile Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

The investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organization that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.