Men sentenced for roles in steroid distribution ring

A West Monroe man and a New Jersey man were sentenced Monday for their roles in importing and selling anabolic steroids.

David Ray Dean, 47, of West Monroe, and Justin R. Kull, 28, of Turnersville, New Jersey, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James to 15 months in prison and 12 months in prison respectively for one count of conspiracy to distribute Schedule III controlled substances. Dean was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine, and Kull was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and surrender his nursing license. They also were sentenced to four years of supervised release.

According to evidence presented at the guilty pleas, Dean and Kull in addition to Gary Lynn Ward, 47, of Monroe, conspired to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids starting sometime in 2013 until Aug. 27, 2013. Kull was a nurse from New Jersey who supplied quantities of steroids to Ward and Dean. Ward and Dean would also import the drugs from overseas and other domestic sources. They would then process the drugs in a makeshift lab in the Monroe area and distribute them.

Ward was sentenced to 46 months in prison and four years of supervised release on June 29, 2015 for the conspiracy count. This is Dean and Ward’s second prosecution for steroid distribution. They previously pleaded guilty on June 21, 2007 to conspiracy to distribute steroids and were sentenced on Oct. 15, 2007 to one year in prison and three years of supervised release.

United States Customs and Border Patrol-Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Louisiana State Police participated in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.