A Missouri man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl.
Roderick L. Stewart, Springfield, also known as “Memphis,” 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Wednesday, June 14, to 12 years and 11 months in federal prison without parole.
On Nov. 8, 2022, Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and/or fentanyl. Stewart admitted that he participated in the conspiracy that distributed more than a kilogram of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl from March 27, 2018, to Nov. 14, 2019, although he was incarcerated on unrelated cases for several months during that time.
Co-defendant Derrick E. Dailey, 37, of Springfield, supplied Stewart and others with heroin and fentanyl for distribution. Court documents refer to a $10,000 drug debt that Stewart owed to Daily, which would represent approximately 100 grams of heroin or fentanyl.
Stewart admitted that he sold $100 worth of fentanyl to a law enforcement confidential source on Nov. 5, 2019. According to court documents, there is evidence Dailey sold much larger quantities of fentanyl, sometimes by falsely claiming it was heroin, to others.
When law enforcement officers attempted to arrest Stewart during a traffic stop, he fled from law enforcement. During the pursuit, which reached speeds over 90 miles per hour, Stewart drove on the wrong side of the road and turned off his headlights. He eventually crashed into two parked cars. He ran from officers but was apprehended.
Stewart has prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and forgery. Stewart also was arrested in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in October 2013 for murder with a firearm, felonious assault with a firearm, and kidnapping with a firearm. Stewart and an accomplice shot a victim 14 times in an alleyway in Cleveland, Ohio, killing him. His accomplice bragged to friends that he and Stewart lured the victim to an alleyway, where Stewart shot the victim in the back and the accomplice shot him in the head. Stewart pleaded guilty to an amended charge of involuntary manslaughter during the middle of a court trial and was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. He was on parole supervision for that offense when he committed the offense in this federal case.
Dailey was sentenced on Dec. 2, 2022, to 34 years in federal prison without parole. Co-defendant Antwanae L. Morgan,32, of Springfield, was sentenced on May 10, 2023, to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Three additional defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
