A 46-year-old man from Decaturville will serve 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Authorities sentenced him after a lengthy investigation produced evidence of his role in distributing methamphetamine. He was convicted of possessing a firearm for drug trafficking purposes and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Law enforcement from the local, state and federal levels spent a year following his activities after someone tipped off the FBI to his alleged drug dealing in Decatur County. In December 2015, an agent attested to buying 1 ounce of methamphetamine from the suspect for $1,100. When the Drug Enforcement Administration tested the substance, the agency confirmed that it was 98.7 percent pure and weighed 29.8 grams.
Undercover purchases continued in the following months. Investigators also said that the suspect purchased a pound of drugs from a supplier in February 2016. In March, law enforcement stopped the man in his car. Agents reported that he had $9,086 and .40 caliber pistol on his person during the traffic stop. Authorities searched his home on the same day and recorded the seizure of 48 more firearms, digital scales, small amounts of drugs and a drug notebook. Overall, investigators recovered a total of 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from his operation.
Any person who is being investigated for drug crimes has a right to consult an attorney. A lawyer may formulate a defense by questioning the legitimacy of a search and seizure or traffic stop. The elimination of evidence might result in dropped charges. An attorney also could work toward negotiating a plea deal that reduces an individual’s sentence by proposing that he or she undergo therapy through a drug diversion program.
Source: FOX 13, “Tennessee man sentenced to 17 years for meth and firearm charges“, Oct. 10, 2017
