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An East Texas man, notorious for orchestrating an illegal drug operation near schools and daycares in Tyler, has been handed a life sentence. Samatraus Forge, the mastermind behind the sale of crack cocaine in the region, faced justice in the 475th District Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to three counts of engaging in organized crime.
The investigation into Forge’s criminal activities began in 2025. A reliable informant tipped off a detective, revealing Forge’s role as the head of a drug-dealing syndicate. This group, consisting of nine individuals, was allegedly under Forge’s command, distributing illegal substances in the community, as detailed in an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit further outlines various instances where the informant exchanged money for crack cocaine with Forge or his associates at homes throughout the Tyler area. These transactions underscored the pervasive reach of Forge’s operation, particularly alarming given their proximity to schools and daycares.
With the court’s decision now rendered, the community can begin to heal, reassured that a significant threat to public safety has been effectively neutralized.
The document explains that there were multiple times when the informant gave money to Forge or his workers and receiving different amounts of crack cocaine at Tyler-area homes.
Officers found meth, crack cocaine, many firearms, scales, baggies, packaging material and a lot of U.S. currency at these homes. The dates of the sales between the informant and the salespersons range from October 2024 to May 2025, the documents detailed.
The named co-conspirators included: Kendrez Johnson, Brittany Tuck, Johnathan Blackshire, Charles Miller, Tommy Spikes, Derrish Graydon, Ronald Calloway, Jannie Brown, Quashunn Mitchell and Jeffery Padilla.
So far, Padilla is the only other co-defendant to be convicted in this case. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after accepting a guilty plea in January. Records show that Blackshire has not been indicted at this time.
In May 2025, Spikes was found dead at an address that was provided many times by Forge as a “trap” house, or somewhere where narcotics were sold. Spikes also referred to himself as a 5-2 Hoover Crip, a criminal gang, the document explained.
Information received led detectives to find that many of the people involved in this operation are a part of the 5-2 Hoover Crip gang. Each location where the drugs were sold were within 1,000 feet of elementary schools and daycare facilities, the arrest affidavit said.