Twin brothers from Gainesville have been convicted in federal court of conspiracy to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine, and now they await sentencing on the convictions.
Twin brothers Kecole Dukes and Kemeca Dukes, age 40, were on parole at the time of the crime, according to U.S. Attorney BJay Pak.
“Crack cocaine is still a scourge in our communities,” said Pak in a press statement. “These defendants are career offenders, and have multiple convictions for distributing crack cocaine in the past. “They are now facing lengthy sentences in federal prison where there is no parole.”
The brothers already had a history of selling cocaine when they were caught in a sting implemented by both federal and local drug agents.
“We appreciate the efforts of the ATF and Hall County MANS Unit in investigating and apprehending these individuals who continued to distribute crack cocaine into the Gainesville community after having been convicted multiple times on drug offenses,” said Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh. “We would also like to thank the jurors for their service and verdict.”
According to Pak, from August 2015 to October 2016, Kemeca Dukes and Kecole Dukes conspired to sell crack cocaine on multiple occasions to informants working for ATF and the Hall County Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (MANS) Unit. Kemeca Dukes was the primary contact for the informants and sold varying quantities of crack cocaine to them on 10 occasions. Kecole Dukes sold or provided crack cocaine to the informants on three occasions and acted as a lookout for his brother on other occasions when Kemeca Dukes met with the informants to sell them crack cocaine.
During the conspiracy both Kemeca Dukes and Kecole Dukes were on parole with the State of Georgia. Both were convicted in Hall County Superior Court in 2011, for selling crack cocaine and both were released in 2014. Both brothers were back selling crack cocaine less than a year later.
On March 23, 2018, Kemeca Dukes pleaded guilty to one count of distributing crack cocaine. On March 29, 2018, Kecole Dukes, was found guilty by a federal court jury of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute at least 28 grams of crack cocaine and distributing at least 28 grams of crack cocaine and three counts of distributing crack cocaine.
A sentencing date for the Dukes’ has not yet been scheduled.
