Heroin Kingpin May Get Life Behind Bars: Prosecutors

NASHVILLE, TN — A Toledo, Ohio, man is facing at least 25 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of running a narcotics ring that pushed heroin and cocaine in Tennessee and six other states, federal prosecutors announced Monday. After a two-week trial, the jury on Friday found Ricky "Boom" Thompson, 43, guilty of conspiracy to distribute more than 1 kilogram of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, said Jack Smith, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The heroin smuggled by Thompson’s ring caused multiple overdoses in Tennessee, and at least one fatal overdose of a young woman in Ohio, say federal prosecutors.

The jury in Nashville also found Thompson guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering; possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; and conspiracy to commit witness intimidation, Smith announced. Thompson faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 25 years, up to life, when he's sentenced in November.

“We have now dismantled another organization responsible for pumping large quantities of addictive and deadly drugs into our communities," Smith said. "We will continue to expand our efforts to bring those to justice who feed the devastating heroin epidemic.”

Reaching Across The Country

Testimony at the Nashville trial showed that Thompson ran an operation that distributed narcotics in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio and Tennessee, prosecutors said. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

In March 2015, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency executed search warrants in Nashville that led in multiple arrests and the seizure of about 300 grams of heroin and cocaine in a stash house run by Thompson’s organization.

Those arrested included John Rupley, 35, and Derek Gilligan, 25, both from Toledo; and Justin Clements, 30, and Tiffany Wright, 28, of Nashville. All four pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said.

Evidence presented at the trial showed that following the 2015 arrests, Gilligan tried to warn Thompson that authorities had identified him as the head of the drug ring, prosecutors said.

On March 2, 2016, DEA and FBI agents and local police raided four Toledo locations operated by Thompson. They seized eight firearms, more than $200,000 worth of heroin, and cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and suboxone, as well as five vehicles and almost $10,000 in cash.

Even after his arrest and extradition to Nashville, prosecutors say that Thompson directed the remaining members of his organization in Toledo "to intimidate and harass persons whom he discovered" had been called to testify before a federal grand jury in Nashville.

The case was investigated by an array of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the DEA, the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department, the Lebanon Police Department and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department. Other agencies included the Ohio State Police; the Toledo, Ohio, Police Department; the Lucas County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Department; and the Oldham County, Ky., Police Department.

Image: Shutterstock