BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama inmate serving a life sentence for murder was convicted on Monday of using a contraband cellphone to direct the sale of 165 pounds of methamphetamine from inside prison, prosecutors said.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, Samdrekus Eugene Bester, 43, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
A jury took four days to convict Bester, according to the release.
In July 2017, Bester was convicted of murder in the death of 28-year-old Caudereo Tyrell Roseman, AL.com reported. Roseman was fatally shot outside an apartment complex in Birmingham on May 13, 2016, according to the news outlet. Bester was sentenced on Oct. 13, 2017.
While serving time for Roseman’s murder, Bester allegedly used the cellphone to coordinate the sale of meth in December 2022 and January 2023, prosecutors said.
According to the news release, Bester “facilitated the possession and distribution” of 165 pounds of meth in the greater Birmingham metro area.
Prosecutors said that Bester arranged for the sale of more than 10 pounds of meth; the narcotics were recovered by Drug Enforcement Agency officers, AL.com reported. The DEA also recovered more than 20 pounds of meth from a co-defendant’s residence, according to the news outlet.
“Despite being imprisoned for murder, the defendant continued to endanger our communities through drug trafficking,” U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. said in a statement. “This guilty verdict sends a clear message that criminal activity will not be tolerated behind prison walls or anywhere else.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge John P. Scott added in a statement that the agency was committed to “dismantling these criminal networks.”
“Even from behind bars, this individual continued to pose a grave danger to our community by orchestrating a large-scale drug trafficking operation,” Scott said.A sentencing date has not been announced, AL.com reported. According to ADOC records, Bester is eligible to be considered for parole on the murder conviction on March 1, 2031.
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