Feds indict 11 in Beaumont 'vortex of misery' crack house operation

Kerry Ardoin, 25 Kerry Ardoin, 25 Photo: Courtesy Of The City Of Beaumont Photo: Courtesy Of The City Of Beaumont Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Feds indict 11 in Beaumont 'vortex of misery' crack house operation 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

Eleven Jefferson County men are facing federal drug and charges following a federal investigation into a crack cocaine operation prosecutors believe was run out of family home in Beaumont.

A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted 13 individuals on four counts. A task force of federal, state and local officers Friday began executing search warrants, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, based in Beaumont.

U.S. Attorney John M. Bales called the alleged family business "a vortex of misery and lost dreams," in the release.

Five defendants in the case, all from Beaumont, were apprehended and are expected to have initial appearances in federal court this week. They are Ashton Devon Randolph, 20; Christopher Dewayne Ooten, 38; Clifton Ray Freeman, 26; George Lewis, 58; and Kody Dwayne Ardoin, 21.

Six other defendants, also from Beaumont, were already in custody: Kerry Arsenio Ardoin, 25; Kristopher George Ardoin, 29; Michael Eugene Ardoin, 29; Patrick Alan Jackson, 27; Seth Deandre Turner, 27; and Terrance Ardoin, 31.

Law enforcement is actively seeking the two remaining defendants, whose names were not released.

Prosecutors allege in the indictment that for more than a decade, the Ardoin family distributed crack cocaine out of their home on Avenue A in Beaumont.

The investigation included efforts by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Beaumont Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.