Show-Me State Times

U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White has sentenced a father and son duo for trafficking kilograms of cocaine to St. Louis over several years. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, with Gregory Dixson Jr., 53, receiving a 15-year prison sentence along with a $10,000 fine and 10 years of supervised release after his term ends. His son, Gregory Cornell Dixson III, 33, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison.

The Dixsons' illicit activities started around 2015 when they conspired with others to bring cocaine into St. Louis. Dixson Jr. confessed that at least 450 kilograms of cocaine could be attributed to his conduct and the actions of others involved in the operation. For Dixson III, this figure stood between 50 to 150 kilograms.

The investigation revealed that in late 2016 or early 2017, the Dixsons sent couriers to Texas to purchase kilograms of cocaine from Miguel Angel Gonzalez, who procured it from Carlos Gonzalez. At one point, Dixson Jr. was buying as much as eight to sixteen kilograms per week.

Law enforcement officers intercepted or seized cocaine and cash during their investigation. In September of 2015, they discovered 31 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a vehicle supplied by Omar Pena Vargas.

In August of 2018, Gonzalez was found in a hotel with two bags containing $634,770 in cash - partial payment for 75 kilograms of cocaine being sold to Dixson Jr.

Further seizures included eight kilograms of cocaine bound for St. Louis on Oct. 28, 2018; and in March of 2020, about twenty-three pounds of a mix of heroin and fentanyl from Ruben Sanchez Blanco intended for St. Louis according to Dixon III’s plea.

In July of 2021, $161,845 was found concealed inside a vehicle driven by Quintin Deforest Adkins to Texas to purchase six kilograms of cocaine.

Dixson Jr. pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and conspiracy to launder money. Dixson III admitted guilt to the same cocaine conspiracy charge as his father.

Dixson Jr. agreed to forfeit $135,265, the proceeds from the sale of a home in Texas, a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali, a customized 2015 Harley Davidson Road Glide, and cash in lieu of a 2018 Dodge Challenger Demon.

Vargas is currently serving time in federal prison. Miguel Gonzalez, 59, pleaded guilty in November to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 400 grams of fentanyl. He is scheduled for sentencing in June. Adkins, 63, pleaded guilty in November to the cocaine and fentanyl conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges and was sentenced in February to 87 months in prison. Blanco, 46, from El Paso, Texas, was sentenced in June after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. Carlos Gonzalez has passed away.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation led the investigation into this case as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation.