A north Texas bodybuilder has been charged with conspiring to sell steroids, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.
Philip Russell Archibald, 29, of Lancaster, was charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Coconspirator Danielle Bocanegra, 30, of Lampasas, was also charged.
“The Northern District of Texas will not tolerate the peddling of steroids in our community. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for helping us dismantle this steroid trafficking ring,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.
According to the complaint, Mr. Archibald, a self-proclaimed bodybuilder and personal trainer, allegedly ran a steroid distribution ring that spanned across north Texas.
In March 2019, agents discovered Mr. Archibald’s fingerprints on a zip-lock baggie filled with steroids, which Ms. Bocanegra sold to an undercover officer for $900, the complaint alleged. They later tracked several packages of steroids sent via the U.S. Postal Service to Ms. Bocanegra’s residence to several USPS kiosks used by Mr. Archibald.
In July 2019, agents followed Mr. Archibald from his residence to a local post office, where he allegedly mailed a priority mail flat rate box. Pursuant to a federal search warrant, the agents seized the parcel and sent the contents to the USPIS Forensic Laboratory, which identified 64 red capsules containing oxandralone, a known steroid compound.
On June 8, 2020, agents also searched Mr. Archibald’s residence, where they found steroids and multiple firearms, prosecutors told the Court.
At Mr. Archibald’s detention hearing, prosecutors argued that the defendant posed a threat to the community, noting that the defendant, who has been tied publicly with the anti-government Boogaloo movement, used his social media accounts to advocate vigilante “guerrilla warfare” against the National Guardsman patrolling Black Lives Matter protests. In a recent Facebook post, he claimed to be “hunting Antifa” and threatened to “kill” looters. The Court granted the government’s motion and ordered Mr. Archibald detained pending trial.
