Eight of nine co-defendants have now admitted to being a part of a drug smuggling ring that mailed a record number of fentanyl pills from Arizona to the Twin Cities hidden in stuffed animals.
On Thursday, Amaya Tiffany-Nicole Mims, 24, became the latest to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to conspiracy to distribute the drug from August 2022 to February 2023.
Mims, of St. Paul, entered a straight plea to the charge, meaning there is no agreement between the defense and the prosecution on the terms of her sentence. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
The others, all from either St. Paul or Minneapolis, also were indicted on the same count following the seizure of 280,000 fentanyl pills that were sent in packages through the U.S. Postal Service from Phoenix to the Twin Cities metro area.
Authorities called the fentanyl seizure, which amounted to 66 pounds with an estimated value of more than $2.2 million, the largest ever in Minnesota. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can kill a person, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Court documents say several of the co-defendants traveled to Phoenix to obtain fentanyl from suppliers, hid the pills inside stuffed animals and mailed them to addresses in and around the Twin Cities. The drug ring disguised the stuffed animals as birthday presents and lined them with dog treats in an attempt to prevent drug-sniffing dogs from alerting them.
Authorities seized 280,000 fentanyl pills that were hidden in stuffed animals and mailed through the U.S. Postal Service from Phoenix to the Twin Cities metro area in 2023. (Courtesy of U.S. District Court of Minnesota)
The investigation involved law enforcement from Washington, Dakota and Ramsey counties, along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations.
Cornell Montez Chandler Jr., of St. Paul, who authorities say was the ringleader of the group, was the first to admit to the charge and remains the lone co-defendant to be sentenced. In November, Chandler, 25, was given a term of just more than 13 years in prison and five years of post-incarceration supervised release.
Cornell Montez Chandler Jr. (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)
Three others then pleaded guilty — Stardasha Christina Davenport-Mounger, 25, and Da’Shawn Natori Domena, 25, both of Minneapolis, and Robiel Lee Williams, 24, of St. Paul.
Earlier this month, prosecutors secured guilty pleas from Shardai Rayshell Allen, 25, of Minneapolis, and Quijuan Hosea Bankhead, 31, and Fo’Tre Devine White, 31, both of St. Paul.
Sentencing dates have not been scheduled for those six co-defendants.
Phyu Win Jame, 28, of Minneapolis, remains the lone co-defendant who hasn’t pleaded guilty in the case, although a change of plea hearing is scheduled for March 12.
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