Korey L Smith aka Korey L Kruta
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A reputed high-ranking member of the Irish Mob prison gang, who said the biggest mistake of his life was joining it, was given a 15-year prison term Friday for participating in a conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine in Stillwater.
The jury trial for Korey Lee Smith, 33, of Stillwater, had suddenly ended in May when he unexpectedly pleaded guilty to the felony charge that carried a possible life prison term. Since Smith did not have an agreement with the prosecution regarding his penalty, his sentence was entirely up to Payne County District Judge Phillip Corley.
Facing the judge in court Friday, Smith told him, “Looking at my past, you may not think I deserve mercy. I’ve been to prison three times. I made the biggest mistake of my life — I joined the Irish Mob prison gang. In these gang units, I get deeper.
“I don’t want to be associated with the Irish Mob. Allow me at least to get a program where I get classes to overcome my addiction. I know I look bad on paper.”
Defense attorney Michael Amend told the judge, “He truly wants to get out of this lifestyle. Mr. Smith has a significant drug problem and significant mental health problems,” and asked that he be given a lesser prison term of 10 years.
The judge told the defendant, “I can understand your predicament. You were just released from prison. You were selling drugs. You could have sought help. You went back to your old ways. I don’t know what a jury would have done if they heard that,” regarding his gang affiliation.
But the judge followed the recommendation of Payne County Assistant District Attorney Jose Villareal and gave Smith a 15-year prison term for the methamphetamine conspiracy, with a concurrent 10-years for possessing the drug with intent to distribute it and a concurrent one-year jail term for driving under suspension.
Noting that he did not have the power to require the state Department of Corrections to do so, the judge asked that Smith be provided treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues while in prison — telling Smith “Good luck to you.”
Smith had been arrested following a traffic stop on Dec. 3, 2020, after Stillwater Police Officer Josh Carson received information that “Lil Korey,” was staying in different hotels and selling methamphetamine in the Stillwater area, an affidavit said.
“Through my investigation I was able to identify ‘Lil Korey’ as Korey Lee Smith. Korey was released from state prison on 10/26/20. Korey is entered into NCIC as a violent offender and has a lengthy criminal history,” the Stillwater officer wrote in his affidavit.
“During a search of Korey’s person, a large sum of cash was located in his wallet. The money was in different denominations and looked and appeared like a ‘dealer wad.’ Korey had $1,050 in cash on his person,” the affidavit said.
When his motel room was searched, a large zip-lock gallon bag was found with residue, but only a small amount of the drug was left, the affidavit said. “Methamphetamine packaging material and scales were located along with paraphernalia used to ingest methamphetamine. It was obvious Korey was in the business of selling drugs,” the affidavit said.
The Stillwater officer drove to a residence of one of Smith’s alleged co-conspirators, who said “he met Korey in the Payne County Jail,” where they were cellmates, the affidavit said.
Korey Smith was in the Payne County Jail awaiting trial for a murder that occurred in the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, the affidavit said. His former cellmate said, “Korey was storing firearms at his house. (He) stated Korey was a high-ranking member of the Irish Mob, and he was scared to tell him no,” the affidavit said.
During a police interview, “Korey stated he is currently on the council for the Irish Mob and is in charge of the ‘405.’ This means because Korey is on the streets, he is in charge of all Irish Mob business in areas that fall under the area code prefix 405.
“Korey stated he rode with (three co-conspirators) to a residence to pick up 8.5 oz of methamphetamine on 11-28-20,” from an Irish Mob member in Oklahoma City, the affidavit alleged.
“Korey explained how he was introduced in the Irish Mob and said he trafficked drugs for them to gain initiation. Korey told me he stabbed someone in county jail and got his ‘Shamrock’ in 2008. Getting your ‘Shamrock’ means you get your official membership into the Irish Mob,” the police officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Korey told me he was involved in stabbing a member of the Aryan Brotherhood in the Cimarron Correctional Facility resulting in the inmate’s death, because the inmate hurt a child. Korey said the charges were dropped because a video of the assault was released on You Tube and it was decided an impartial jury would be impossible to find.
“Korey provided us the pass code to his phone and sat with us as we looked through his messages. Numerous messages were observed showing Korey facilitating the movement of large amounts of methamphetamine. Korey was talking to other individuals about Kilogram-sized loads of methamphetamine,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
According to court records and the state Department of Corrections, Smith was previously convicted of four counts of attempted conjoint robbery, three counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree burglary in 2009 in Oklahoma County for which he served three years in prison. Smith was also convicted of conspiracy to distribute a drug in 2018 in Canadian County for which he served about 19 months before his release in 2020.
