MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) – A Houston man has been sentenced in federal court in Mobile for his role in a drug distribution organization.

On October 22, Michael Dewayne McDaniel received nearly nine years in prison for his participation in a medicine distribution organization headed by Darrin Southallthe U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama announced Tuesday.

McDaniel pleaded guilty in July to two counts of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

According to court records, McDaniel, known as “Money,” met with messengers who traveled from Mobile to Houston to pay for Southhall’s drug shipments. The couriers then took the drugs to Mobile to be distributed.

McDaniel collected and counted the drug money and arranged for the drug shipments to be concealed in vehicles used to transport them from Houston to Mobile.

U.S. District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose imposed a sentence of 105 months on each of the two counts. The sentences will be executed simultaneously. He will then be placed on 10 years of supervised release and will have to undergo drug testing and treatment and submit to searches if there is reasonable suspicion that he has violated the terms of his release.

In 2022, Southall pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to his drug distribution network and was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison.

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