A contract killer for the Craig Petties drug organization who never carried out his job got a 12-year, five-month prison sentence Thursday, March 21, from U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays.

2. Prosecutors Weigh Cooperation Against Murder - Tuesday, February 12, 2013

For a second time, prosecutors in the largest drug case ever brought into Memphis federal court have decided not to recommend a reduction in the sentence of a high-ranking member of the Craig Petties drug organization who cooperated to some extent.

3. Petties Case: Vaughn Gets 36.5 Year Prison Sentence - Saturday, February 9, 2013

Vacha Vaughn, a high ranking member of the Craig Petties drug organization, was sentenced Friday, Feb. 8, to 36 years and six months in prison on a federal drug conspiracy conviction.

4. Fields Gets 37-Year Sentence in Petties Case - Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Demetrius Fields, a high-ranking member of the Craig Petties drug organization, drew the longest jail term yet as those convicted in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court continue to be sentenced.

5. Fields Gets 37-Year Sentence In Petties Case - Saturday, February 2, 2013

Demetrius Fields, a high ranking member of the Craig Petties drug organization, drew the longest jail term yet as those convicted in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court continue to be sentenced.

6. Petties Hit Man Sentence Poses Dilemma - Monday, January 7, 2013

U.S. District Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays had a dilemma as he sentenced a contract killer Thursday, Jan. 3, for his part in the Craig Petties drug organization.

7. Broady Gets 31 Year Sentence In Petties Case - Friday, January 4, 2013

Clarence Broady, who at one time robbed drug dealers, was sentenced to 31 years in prison Thursday, Jan. 3, for being a hit man for the Craig Petties drug organization.

8. More Sentences Expected for Petties Drug Case in 2013 - Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Five years after Memphis drug kingpin Craig Petties was captured in Mexico, the federal court drug case that bears his name is still moving through the courts of the Western District of Tennessee.

9. Petties Drug Runner Draws Eight-Year Sentence - Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Bobby Cole was a professional drag racer and race promoter known as a kind of arbiter of differences among drivers and someone who helped those in financial straits with loans of cash or one of his trailers.

10. Petties Drug Runner Draws Eight-Year Sentence - Tuesday, October 30, 2012

A professional drag racer and mechanic who used his racing trailers to run money and cocaine for the Craig Petties drug organization was sentenced Monday, Oct. 29, to eight years and one month in prison.

11. Testimony Ends in Fed Drug Trial - Friday, March 16, 2012

After five weeks of testimony, the last witness testified Wednesday, March 14, in the Petties drug organization trial in Memphis federal court.

He was Vacha Vaughn, a high-level member of the organization who was shot in a 2004 robbery by men dressed as police officers. Three years later, he was a target of the organization itself because he was believed to be cooperating with authorities.

12. Petties Case Court Documents Suggest Post Conviction Plans - Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Toward the end of the prosecution’s case last week in the Craig Petties drug organization trial, jurors heard a corrections officers say that Clinton Lewis, one of the two defendants, told Carlos Whitelow, another member of the organization, to keep quiet and not tell prosecutors anything about the organization.

13. Prosecution Rests in Fed Drug Trial - Friday, March 9, 2012

The prosecution in the Craig Petties drug organization trial rested in case in chief Thursday, March 8, after four weeks of testimony.

14. Petties Jury Hears of 2007 Arrests of Defendants and Plea Talks - Thursday, March 8, 2012

When they were arrested separately within months of each in 2007, neither Clinton Lewis nor Martin Lewis went quietly.

15. Violent Acts Take Stage in Fed Drug Trial - Thursday, March 8, 2012

When Mario McNeil allegedly threatened the mother of drug kingpin Craig Petties in 2007, the Memphis drug organization Petties ran from exile in Mexico took it seriously.

16. Fed Drug Case Zeroes in on Defendants - Wednesday, March 7, 2012

For three weeks, federal prosecutors in the Craig Petties drug organization trial have told a jury the wide-ranging story of the organization and dozens of the leaders and other players in it.

17. Petties Trial Focuses on Turner Killing - Monday, March 5, 2012

The point at which the prosecution ends and the defense begins in the Craig Petties drug organization trial in Memphis Federal Court should be when the 2006 murder of Marcus Turner becomes the center of attention again.

18. Petties Trial Focuses on 2006 Murder - Friday, March 2, 2012

The second witness to testify in the Petties organization drug trial that begins its fifth week Monday, March 5, was Lucy Turner, a police dispatcher from West Memphis, Ark. and the mother of Marcus Turner.

19. Fed Drug Trial Testimony Ends Fourth Week - Friday, March 2, 2012

Martin Lewis jumped Marcus Brandon as soon as Brandon came on the line in May 2007 during a jailhouse phone call three-wayed by Lewis’ girlfriend using another prisoner’s ID number.

20. Petties Org Drug Trial Hits Fourth Week - Monday, February 27, 2012

The Craig Petties drug organization trial has settled into some predictable rhythms as it begins its fourth week Monday, Feb. 27, in Memphis Federal Court.

21. Petties Org Drug Trial Ends Third Week - Friday, February 24, 2012

The Craig Petties drug organization trial has settled into some predictable rhythms as it begins its fourth week Monday, Feb. 27, in Memphis Federal Court.

22. Questions Raised About Plea Deals - Friday, February 24, 2012

Shortly after Clarence Broady shot Latrell Small and Kalonji Griffin to death in a car at a Hickory Hill apartment complex in 2004, Demetrius Fields got a new tattoo.

23. Defense Critical of Plea Deal for Fields in Petties Case - Thursday, February 23, 2012

Shortly after Latrell Small and Kalonji Griffin were shot to death by Clarence Broady in a car at a Hickory Hill apartment complex in 2004, Demetrius Fields got a new tattoo.

24. Recordings Could be Played in Major Drug Trial - Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tobias Pride told Mario Stewart that leaders of the drug organization Pride worked for wanted Stewart dead because they believed he was cooperating with police.

25. Rules for Federal Drug Case Still Being Formed - Thursday, December 15, 2011

The words “inordinate” and “extraordinary” keep coming up in the court documents for the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court, even though the case is now down to two defendants who are scheduled to go to trial next month.

26. Broady Pleads In Petties Drug Case - Thursday, November 24, 2011

One of the three remaining defendants in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court has pleaded guilty to multiple conspiracy charges including racketeering, murder for hire and drug distribution.

27. Broady Pleads In Petties Drug Case - Wednesday, November 23, 2011

One of the three remaining defendants in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court has pleaded guilty to multiple conspiracy charges including racketeering, murder for hire and drug distribution.

28. Petties Drug Case Moves Toward Jan. Trial - Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The three remaining defendants in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court are scheduled to go to trial Jan. 17 before U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays.

The trial of Martin Lewis, Clinton Lewis and Clarence Broady is expected to take four to five weeks.

29. Drug Cartel Case Moves Closer To January Trial - Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Memphis Federal Court Judge Hardy Mays will talk Wednesday, Nov. 16, with attorneys for the three defendants left in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court.

Federal prosecutors and attorneys for defendants Clarence Broady, Clinton Lewis and Martin Lewis come to court for an attorney conference on their way to a scheduled January trial date on drug conspiracy and racketeering charges that also include murder for hire.

30. Defendant in Petties Case Pleads Guilty - Monday, October 24, 2011

The biggest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court is down to three defendants who have a tentative trial date in January on racketeering and murder-for-hire charges.

Demetrious Fields pleaded guilty last week to three of the counts he faced for his role in the multi-state drug organization headed by Craig Petties from 1995 to 2008.

31. Fields Pleads In Drug Case - Friday, October 21, 2011

One of the four remaining defendants in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court pleaded guilty Thursday, Oct. 20, to drug conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering charges.

Demetrious Fields pleaded guilty Wednesday, Oct. 19, before Federal Court Judge Hardy Mays with his sentencing scheduled for March 2.

32. Feds Seek Anonymous Jury in Drug Case - Thursday, September 15, 2011

Federal prosecutors want an “anonymous jury” for the trial next year of four men accused of being contract killers for the largest drug ring ever tried in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis.

33. Motions Offer New Details in Petties Drug Case - Friday, June 3, 2011

Three of the four remaining defendants in the largest and most violent drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court want more information about the cases against them and a separate trial for two of them.

34. Four Petties Codefendants May be Tried in January - Thursday, March 17, 2011

Four codefendants in the largest and most violent drug-trafficking case ever brought in Memphis federal court may go to trial in January 2012.

Report dates for Demetrius Fields, Clarence Broady and Clinton Lewis in the last week have focused on what happens next in the case. That follows the revelation last month that the alleged leader of the drug organization, Craig Petties, pleaded guilty to 19 counts including murder-for-hire in December 2009. The guilty plea was unsealed and made public just last month.

35. Drug Case Gets Stranger With Plea Revelation - Thursday, February 24, 2011

It is not unusual in Memphis federal court for a grand jury indictment to be sealed by a judge. And there are times when a guilty plea may be sealed.

But the revelation this week that alleged drug kingpin Craig Petties pleaded guilty over a year ago to 19 counts including murder for hire charges in Memphis federal court is unusual.

36. Mays: Petties Codefendants to Keep Capital Counsel - Monday, February 7, 2011

Extra legal counsel appointed for four defendants in the largest and most violent drug case ever tried in Memphis federal court will remain on the job, but they will take a pay cut.

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays issued the ruling this week after federal prosecutors sought to have the extra attorneys dismissed because the government will not seek the federal death penalty against Demetrious Fields, Clinton Lewis, Martin Lewis and Clarence Broady.

37. Petties Drug Case Begins Moving to Next Phase - Wednesday, September 8, 2010

After several years of report dates that take less than five minutes, the largest drug case ever prosecuted in Memphis federal court is beginning to move into questions about what comes next.

Sometime this month, U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays will meet with defense and prosecution attorneys for a status conference. It will be the first conference of its kind since the U.S. Justice Department decided not to seek the death penalty against four of the defendants: Demetrius Fields, Clinton Lewis, Martin Lewis and Clarence Broady.

38. Feds Appear Likely to Seek Death Penalty Against Petties - Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The federal government will apparently seek the federal death penalty against alleged drug kingpin Craig Petties.

39. Petties Drug Case Reaches Pivotal Juncture - Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The largest drug case ever presented in Memphis federal court reaches a critical phase today when U.S. Attorney Larry Laurenzi begins a series of meetings with attorneys for five of the nine defendants.

40. Petties Drug Case Could Linger Into Autumn - Thursday, April 16, 2009

It could be the fall before prosecutors in the federal drug, racketeering and murder for hire case against Craig Petties and seven others make a decision on seeking the death penalty.