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TEXARKANA, Texas – A 31-year-old Bowie County, Texas, man has been convicted of federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox today.

Justin Rashad Young was found guilty of drug trafficking today, following a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III.

According to information presented in court, on June 28, 2017, Young and his fellow drug trafficker, Joshea Cardwell, a.k.a. “Too Tall,” were found in the Magnuson Hotel near North State Line Avenue in Texarkana, Texas, with more than 400 grams of methamphetamine, 1.6 kilograms of marijuana, drug distribution materials, and a Taurus 9 mm pistol. When officers arrived on the scene, Young slammed the hotel room door on one of the responding officers. Before that day, Young had been shot at the drug house he had been operating on Waterman Street in Texarkana. On another occasion, Young was found in possession of marijuana after he left a drug house. At trial, a cooperating witness described how Cardwell and Young had been working together for months to sell marijuana from California and methamphetamine. Young and Cardwell were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 14, 2018, and again on July 24, 2019.

On June 4, 2020, Cardwell pleaded guilty to conspiring with Young to possess and distribute marijuana and methamphetamine and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Under federal statutes, Young and Cardwell face up to 40 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Special Operations Division of the Texarkana Texas Police Department, the Texarkana office of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan R. Hornok and Lucas R. Machicek.