Six Pike County residents are among the men and women indicted by a federal grand jury recently.

A federal grand jury indicted Eric Jerome Parker, 29, of Troy; Willie Charles Townsend, 34, of Fairburn, Georgia; Christopher Darrin Alloway, 22, of Troy; Jason Terrell Davenport, 20, of Troy; Ronisha Rawshon Carter, 20, of Troy; Willie Pereze Boggan, 27, of Greenville; Brian Javoris Walker, 29, of Greenville; Kelvin Dewayne Anderson, 32, of Dothan; Cedrin Farrod Carter, 28, of Brundidge; and Jeffery Nolan Bennett, 26, of Troy, on drug trafficking charges.  The indictment charges that the ten joined in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and powder cocaine in Pike, Butler and Houston counties and elsewhere throughout the Middle District of Alabama.  Parker and Townsend were also charged with laundering the organization’s proceeds.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Troy Police, Greenville Police, Houston County Sheriff’s Department, Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

None of those indicted last week were being held in Pike County jails. And, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montgomery, the investigation is ongoing and additional indictments are expected.

If convicted on all counts in the indictment, Parker, Boggan, Cedrin Carter and Bennett face mandatory life sentences in federal prison.  Townsend, Walker and Anderson face minimum sentences of 20 years and maximum life sentences if convicted on all charges.  Alloway, Davenport, and Ronisha Carter face minimum terms of 10 years in federal prison, and up to a life sentence.

George L. Beck, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, said in a statement that the indictments are part of the effort to thwart the spread of illegal drugs.

“Drugs are a poison that destroy communities, families and people’s lives.  My office will use every means available under the law to punish those who distribute this poison to the citizens of the Middle District,” he said.

Gregory Borland, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Alabama District, said in a prepared statement that the DEA “is deeply appreciative of the leadership of the United States Attorney’s Office, and thankful for the cooperative efforts of the state, local and federal law enforcement agencies that combined to successfully dismantle this drug trafficking organization.

“We are determined to continue to use such collaborative efforts to target these criminal groups, who victimize their own communities, in the name of personal profit.”

Troy Police Chief Jimmy Ennis deferred comment on the indictments and investigation, saying only that local officers are cooperating with the federal officials.