Murder suspect faces 9 fed drug charges

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The same man accused of a 2011 Kalamazoo murder and connected to a dog-fighting ring now faces nine federal drug charges.

Samuel Steel III was indicted in a Grand Rapids federal court on Tuesday on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and eight counts of distribution of heroin.

He was also ordered to forfeit two vehicles and four plots of land in Kalamazoo as part of the drug investigation.

The forfeited property includes a parcel in the 1900 block of Douglas Avenue, two parcels in the 600 block of Mabel Street, and a parcel in the 1300 block of Fourth Street.

Steel, 43, and Harry Mathews II are accused in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Milo Conklin and wounding of another man on April 24, 2011.

Matthews was arrested shortly after warrants were issued for the two in December 2011.

Steel, however, remained at large until August 2012, when he was arrested in Georgia after being tracked down as part of a dog-fighting ring investigation.

He was extradited to Michigan shortly thereafter to face charges of open count of murder, attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and having a firearm during commission of a felony in connection to the 2011 shooting.