A Michigan drug dealer whose 30-year sentence was cut short by Joe Biden is now facing fresh federal charges.
Lakento Smith, 54, originally from Muskegon, was handed a golden ticket when Biden commuted his lengthy prison term. Instead of turning his life around, Smith allegedly dove right back into criminal activity, according to reports. Federal prosecutors have now slapped him with a money laundering conspiracy charge tied to an entirely separate criminal operation.
Here is where it gets truly wild. Court documents that were recently unsealed reveal Smith confessed to investigators that he had been coordinating massive weekly cocaine shipments into Michigan while he was still locked up in federal prison. Let that sink in for a moment. The man was literally running drug logistics from behind bars.
After his release, Smith relocated to Houston, Texas, and allegedly partnered with a suspected drug dealer operating out of Muskegon Heights. Authorities say he laundered roughly $130,000 in narcotics proceeds. The feds caught onto him through undercover surveillance operations, stacks of physical cash, and covert recording devices.
One recorded phone call is particularly damning. Smith spoke with an undercover DEA agent who was pretending to be a money launderer. On that call, Smith actually referenced his clemency, telling the agent to "protect me" because he was "fresh home." Not exactly the words of a reformed citizen.
IRS Criminal Investigations Special Agent Joseph Mack noted in court filings that Smith appeared to use go-betweens specifically to keep distance from illegal dealings because of his recent prison release. The Detroit News obtained those filings.
Smith allegedly funneled some of the dirty cash into his wife's bank account and converted portions into cashier's checks. He also reportedly purchased a white box truck to obscure where the money came from. Classic laundering playbook.
Smith was not the only one nabbed in this operation. The DOJ announced that Javon Drevelle Brewer, 58, and Fletcher Lee Salazar, 40, were also arrested. All three face charges of conspiring to distribute and possess controlled substances, including over 400 grams of fentanyl, along with heroin and cocaine.
U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey did not mince words about the severity of these allegations. He called fentanyl "a poison" fueling overdoses throughout the district and emphasized his office's dedication to going after both the narcotics and the financial networks propping them up.
DEA Detroit Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph Dixon echoed that sentiment, warning that traffickers across western Michigan will be identified and their operations torn apart.
If convicted on the laundering conspiracy charge alone, Smith could land back in prison for up to 20 years. That would be quite the sequel to a commutation that was supposed to represent mercy and a second chance. Instead, it appears to have simply been a brief intermission.
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