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On Wednesday, a Dallas man was sentenced to more than 11 years in the slammer after law enforcement uncovered methamphetamine, cocaine, a rifle and narcotic rectal gel in his apartment.
Drug trafficking violations have landed 31-year-old Zachariah Logan Carl in federal prison for 135 months, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Texas. On April 12, Carl pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to deliver cocaine and methamphetamine.
“The sentence handed down today reflects EDTX’s policy to aggressively target and pursue those responsible for bringing drugs into the Eastern District regardless of where they live,” Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said in the news release. “Drug traffickers need to understand that despite their best efforts, it is only a matter of time until they are caught and brought to justice.”
Carl’s attorney, Camille M. Knight, told the Observer that her client’s sentence was several years less than what the government had requested.
“We believe the Court rightfully took into account our arguments for a lower sentence based on several factors, including Mr. Carl’s lack of prior criminal history and his own long-term battle with addiction,” Knight said by email.
From May through September 2019, Carl was identified as the primary source of supply in a narcotics investigation into MDMA, meth and other drugs being sold in the Cooke County area, according to the release. Carl was subsequently arrested at his Dallas apartment on an outstanding felony warrant, along with two others: Mary Margaret Merrell and Michael Luke Allison.
While searching Carl’s apartment, law enforcement found 82.387 grams of cocaine, 489 grams of meth, 119.6 grams of “various pills” and 1,121.8 grams of “various liquid substances” thought to be GHB. Police noted an assault-style rifle resting on the couch, fake ID cards with Carl’s photo, cell phones and a bag of ammunition.
“Drug traffickers need to understand that despite their best efforts, it is only a matter of time until they are caught and brought to justice.” – Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei
Twenty milligrams of diazepam rectal gel were also uncovered in Carl’s apartment. Diastat, the brand name for the gel, is a type of medication used to treat seizures but can also be abused, according to the addiction treatment service The Recovery Village.
Merrell served as a go-between for Carl, helping to facilitate drug buys for others, according to the release. She and Allison told law enforcement that the meth in the apartment was Carl’s.
Meanwhile, a phone analysis showed that Allison had communicated frequently with Carl about distributing cocaine, Xanax, meth and GHB. For years, Carl sold an “extensive amount of various narcotics” while he lived under a fake identity.
Other Dallas residents involved in the conspiracy included James Travis Tanner, Kathe Tran Vo, James Anthony Marzioli and Maxine Juliette Mitchell. Each had previously pleaded guilty and received varying sentences.
