Jury finds defendants in Mobile’s backpack drug trial guilty on all but one count

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A jury on Wednesday found a man federal prosecutors called a “kingpin” and two others guilty on all but one count in a sweeping indictment alleging drug and gun conspiracies.

It is a case that drew a great deal of curiosity since a raid in 2024 revealed that a 3-year-old child came out of a house on Harvey Court in Mobile with a bookbag filled with cocaine.

Federal prosecutors put on evidence indicating that wasn’t a one-off. They alleged that Glennie Antonio “Little Man” McGee regularly used children as couriers in an operation that sold large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl. They said McGee and his wife, Echandza Dianca Maxie, reaped millions of dollars from those sales and used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle of travel to exotic locales.

“We’re obviously pleased,” U.S. Attorney Sean Costello said following the verdict. “We’re glad that the jury listened to the evidence, made the decision that they did. We think they took their job seriously, and we are happy that justice prevailed here.”

The verdict exposes McGee to a possible life prison sentence. Costello said his office would seek an “appropriate” sentence for him and his two co-defendants. U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer set sentencing for April 21.

The jury found McGee guilty of continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and use of people younger than 18 in drug operations.

The jury found Echandza Maxie guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, tampering with evidence and disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon.

The jury found her sister, Exavieria Deagnes “DD” Maxie, guilty of tampering with evidence and firearms trafficking conspiracy. But jurors acquitted her of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

“I think that it’s a really inconsistent verdict,” her attorney, Maxine Walters, said outside the courthouse. “I’m not sure if the jury was confused or felt rushed, so I was disappointed to hear that. But the fight’s not over. I am grateful for one not guilty verdict.”

The jury has one more task before the case is over. It must decide whether McGee and his wife should have to surrender real estate, some $400,000 worth of jewelry and vehicles that agents seized during the investigation. That includes the couple’s personal home on Raspberry Lane in west Mobile and the home of McGee’s mother.

The jury will deliberate on that issue Thursday.

Prosecutors argue that all of the property represents the fruits of the couple’s illegal drug enterprise. Prosecutors also are asking for a $1.68 million money judgment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller told jurors that prosecutors derived that figure from the $20,000 a month that McGee told investigators he made selling drugs and multiplied it over the seven years prosecutors say the organization operated in Mobile.

Roller called it a “very conservative estimate.” He said the actual total is much higher, based on testimony that nearly $5 million rolled through his bank accounts over a five-year period, plus large amounts of bulk cash that he had in various locations.

McGee, who acted as his own attorney throughout the trial, argued to the jury that he bought most of the real estate before 2017. He also argued that prosecutors mischaracterized his statement regarding his monthly income.

Blake Vrieze, who represents Echandza Maxie, disputed the allegation that his client had no legitimate income. He said Maxie was a real estate agent and reminded jurors they heard evidence of awards she won for it. She also owned a tax preparation service, he said.

“It’s beyond doubt that Ms. Maxie had legitimate income. … So we have to look at her properties differently,” he told jurors.

Roller countered that none of that supposedly legitimate income is reflected on the couple’s tax returns.

“You know who doesn’t know that? The Internal Revenue Service,” he said.

Costello, the U.S. attorney, praised the ingenuity of federal agents who investigated the case. They installed a secret camera on a light pole across from the home of McGee’s mother on Euclid Avenue, where he conducted some of his business. Investigators also got permission from a judge to install a closed-circuit TV inside McGee’s Cadillac Escalade. Recordings from that device formed a large chunk of the evidence that the jury reviewed.

“People in Mobile may think that this is not a place that has a significant, large-scale drug problem, and thanks to the efforts of our law enforcement partners, we tend to keep a lid on that,” he told FOX10 News. “But it requires investigating these things. They take a long time to work up. We had wiretaps in this case. We had really creative agents who brought us evidence that we otherwise would not have been able to get and that’s what it takes.”