Lexington woman had ‘hidden side.’ She dove ‘head first’ into drug trafficking.

Three drug couriers, including a Lexington woman, have been sentenced in federal court.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood sentenced Shontail Marie Hocker, 42, to eight years in prison. She pleaded guilty in September to being part of a conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of the painkiller fentanyl.

In February, DEA agents observed Hocker give 2 kilos of cocaine to David Dewayne Morris at a truck stop in Shelby County. Morris in turn gave it to Kimberly Davis. Lexington police later obtained a search warrant for Hocker’s home in Fayette County where they seized more than 200 grams of fentanyl, $105,880 in currency and metal presses used to process large quantities of controlled substances.

The investigation also revealed that Hocker was party of money-laundering operation.

During Monday’s hearing in Lexington, Hood said he received letters from people attesting to Hocker’s character, “but there was a hidden side to Shontail Hocker they weren’t aware of.” Hocker dove “head first” into drug trafficking until she was “fully immersed in it,” Hood said.

Morris, 48, of Louisville was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Morris pleaded guilty in September to possession with intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

His sentence was enhanced because Morris had prior convictions for felony drug offenses, according to court documents.

Hood told Morris it “looked like you’d gotten out of that business you were in in the ‘90s but you hadn’t.”

Davis, 47, of Louisville was sentenced to one year and a day in prison. She pleaded guilty in September to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

Davis, a single parent, was a one-time, low-level drug courier, defense attorney Sean Pharr wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Morris knew Davis through church and he had recruited her to be a courier.

Pharr argued that Davis was “substantially less culpable” than Morris or Hocker in the drug trade.

Before sentencing, Eric A. Johnson, pastor of Greater Galilee Church in Louisville where Davis attended, testified that she was “invaluable” in a fund-raising campaign, in a homeless ministry and in speaking to troubled youths.

Hood said that when he was a kid, if someone tried to recruit him into doing something questionable, he would think to himself “how would I explain it to my mother?”

“If I couldn’t figure out a way to explain it, I wouldn’t do it,” Hood said.

In this case, Davis should have gone through a similar thought process, or at the least, asked Morris why he couldn’t transport the stuff himself, Hood said.