Federal prosecutors have brought fentanyl and firearm charges against nine people accused of selling the illicit opioid throughout a handful of apartment buildings in north Minneapolis.
Larry McGee, 42, Danielle Robberstad, 35, Maurice Montgomery, 31, Dameon Collins, 24, Marcus Lucious, 53, Romell Vann, 22, Bobby Nolan, 43, Jeremy Lucious, 35, and a ninth defendant whose case is sealed face up to life in prison if convicted of their charges including selling fentanyl and illegally carrying firearms as part of the “Big Sip” drug trafficking organization. The indictment accuses the group of storing and selling fentanyl out of at least five apartment buildings near 36th Avenue North and North Penn Avenue.
“Today marks the federal takedown of yet another dangerous criminal organization. And we will not stop,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson. “The Big Sip drug trafficking organization wreaked havoc at 36th and Penn, bringing guns, violence, and deadly fentanyl to neighborhood apartment buildings. The law abiding people of Minneapolis deserve better. I am proud of the federal, state, and local team that came together to protect the neighborhood from this fentanyl trafficking organization.”
According to the charges, Big Sip began in the summer of 2023 and fueled shootings, homicides and drug use in the immediate area. Minneapolis police in 2024 reported four times as many shooting victims within a block of 36th and Penn compared to the prior three-year average and said violent crime more than doubled within the one-block radius.
McGee and Robberstad, the husband and wife accused of leading the organization, obtained and stored the fentanyl in the apartments while also managing sales, prosecutors allege. Montgomery, Collins, Marcus Lucious, Vann, Nolan and Jeremy Lucious are then accused of selling the illicit fentanyl to customers at the apartments. Montgomery, Collins and Vann are charged with possessing firearms during the sales.
The case was investigated by the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Minneapolis Police Department; and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
