Oklahoma Prisoner Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Running Meth Operation in Tulsa

A member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang pleaded guilty this week in federal court to running a meth operation from inside his prison cell. 

Richard Deeter Jr. will make the move from state to federal prison after his guilty plea for drug conspiracy, but that won’t happen anytime soon. DOC records show he is almost halfway through his 12-year sentence for state drug charges. US Attorney Clint Johnson said Deeter will have to finish that before he starts serving time for these new federal charges. 

Johnson said Deeter used a contraband cell phone to direct people on the outside to move large amounts of meth. 

"We know that he was moving kilos of methamphetamine, over 300 kilos of methamphetamine, from his prison cell in the north fork correctional center in Sayre,” Johnson said. 

Five others on the outside, Donald Pearson, Jonna Steele, Johnny Sparks, Izabella Boling, and Nicole Cox, also pleaded guilty in the case. The indictment says they were storing meth and guns at a home near Pine and Lewis. 

"Even when an individual is in prison, but he still has those connections on the outside, if they can get a hold of communication devices and they have enough street cred and they have enough influence, they can still run, operate and manage individuals on the outside. Where to pick up the drugs, who to deliver the drugs to, how much the drugs are to be sold for, who owes a debt on those drugs,” Johnson said. 

Investigators believe Deeter was running the operation starting in January of 2021, and by October, Deeter admits he is getting tired. 

The indictment says Deeter sent a message to Steele saying, "No....I just need everyone to come together and start working together more without me having to direct everything.... I’m exhausted my man, don't think I can hold everything together much longer by myself." 

The indictment shows, one example of how Reeder was asking for help was finding someone to shave the heads and eyebrows of two women who owed him money. Deeter is expected to be sentenced sometime in the next few months. Federal prosecutors are asking the judge to sentence him to 16 years in prison.