Three plead guilty in gun, drug, prostitution ring

Three men have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges after investigators uncovered a drug, gun and prostitution ring running between Spokane and Missoula.

Frederick G. Johnson on Tuesday joined Yusuf D. Reeves and Delbert Willis taking plea deals in the case after a Montana grand jury handed down indictments in March. Johnson and Reeves, both of Spokane, face at least five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of drug conspiracy and racketeering.

The Missoula Police Department contacted FBI agents in July 2014 to assist in an investigation into drug and human trafficking, according to court documents. That probe led to Reeves, described as a known “pimp and drug trafficker” who operated out of a home on East Nora Avenue in Spokane Valley, according to FBI Special Agent Monte Shaide.

Witnesses told authorities they bought methamphetamine from Reeves at his home, then drove to sell the drugs in Montana. One drug runner said she made 12 to 14 trips along Interstate 90 to sell meth in April and May 2014. Another man told authorities he’d traded Reeves a gun for methamphetamine.

Johnson was recruited to deliver meth and heroin and bring women to motels in Missoula, and was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, according to court documents.

Willis pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy, distribution of heroin and transportation of a person with intent to engage in sexual activity. He told authorities he made about 25 trips between Spokane and Missoula to deliver heroin and meth, according to court documents. A fourth defendant in the case, Elijah Coakely, is scheduled to go to trial next month on two counts of drug conspiracy and possession.

Reeves, who goes by the street name “Big Daddy,” has run afoul of the law in Spokane before. In 2006, he was arrested when a bag of crack cocaine fell out of his pants pocket at a sandwich shop in north-central Spokane – where Spokane police officers also were eating lunch. He also pleaded guilty to delivery of a controlled substance in 2002.

Johnson has pleaded guilty in Spokane Superior Court to multiple counts of driving under the influence and while his license was suspended, according to court records.

Sentencing for Johnson, Reeves and Willis is scheduled for later this year in Montana.