Federal grand jury indicts 13 for Owensboro methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy following Homeland Security Task Force investigation

Date: July 24, 2026

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Louisville, KY - Following a lengthy investigation by the Louisville Homeland Security Task Force, a federal grand jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, returned an indictment on July 15, 2026, charging thirteen Owensboro based men and women as part of a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. All thirteen individuals were arrested this week.

U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Todd C. Smith of the DEA Chicago Field Division and Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement.

According to the indictment, Michael Mayfield of Owensboro, Shawn Pendleton of Owensboro, Andrew Owen of Owensboro, James Jordan McCarthy of Owensboro, Brandon Horne of Owensboro, Rodney Murch of Owensboro, Timothy Barnes of Owensboro, Byron Todd Huff of Owensboro, Brooke Love-Moss of Owensboro, Gregory Belcher of Philpot, Jonathan Boone of Owensboro, Stephan Hill of Owensboro, and Jeremy Royal of Owensboro, were all charged with one count of conspiring together and with others to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine from November 2025 through July 14, 2026, in Daviess County, Kentucky, and elsewhere.

Additionally, Mayfield was charged with 2 counts of distributing methamphetamine; Owen was charged with 1 count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and Pendleton was charged with 3 counts of distributing methamphetamine and 2 counts of distributing cocaine.

On July 22, 2026, Mayfield, Pendleton, Owen, McCarthy, Horne, Belcher, Boone, and Hill made an initial court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Huff and Love-Moss are scheduled to make initial appearances on July 23, 2025. Murch and Royal will make initial appearances at a future date. Detention hearings are scheduled to take place before a U.S. Magistrate Judge beginning July 27, 2026. If convicted, each of the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Kyle Bumgarner stated, "Unfortunately dope dealers in Daviess County, Kentucky, have not taken heed of previous federal drug trafficking indictments that resulted in substantial sentences. As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today, this drug trafficking organization operated for nearly nine months, distributing methamphetamine onto the streets of Owensboro, until they were taken down in a sweeping law enforcement operation conducted in the early morning hours of July 22. Now, because of tremendous work by the Owensboro Police Department, the Daviess County Sheriff's Department, and the federal agents comprising Louisville's Homeland Security Task Force, our Office is positioned to hold each of these defendants accountable for the methamphetamine they allegedly pushed into Daviess County. Neither this office nor or federal, state, or local law enforcement partners will stop until drug traffickers learn that Daviess County is closed for business."

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the DEA Evansville Resident Office, the FBI Owensboro Resident Office, the Owensboro Police Department and the Owensboro-Daviess County Drug Task Force with assistance from IRS-CI, the Daviess County Sheriff's Office, HSI Bowling Green Office, Indiana State Police, Kentucky State Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Dahl and Mark Yurchisin are prosecuting the case with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Aaron Cooper.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Louisville comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, ATF, and IRS, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.