MACON, Georgia – Two men, including a suspect classified as a career offender, have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a drug trafficking network based in Warner Robins, Georgia, which was responsible for distributing about 16 kilograms of methamphetamine. This case is the result of an investigation by the Task Force to Combat Organized Crime related to armed drug trafficking in Central Georgia.
Matthew Kay, 35, of Warner Robins, was sentenced to 235 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release consecutively serving three sentences he is currently serving in Houston County, Georgia. Kay pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on September 6th. Kay is a career offender who has previously had two felony drug distribution convictions in state court. Parsa Ervin, 45, of Warner Robins, was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release to consecutively serve any sentence that can be served in three different Houston County cases. Ervin pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to two counts of using a communications device to distribute methamphetamine with intent to possess parole in the federal system.
“Armed drug traffickers and individuals associated with criminal organizations that threaten the security of our region will be held accountable,” said US Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that make up the Drugs Organized Crime Task Force are fully focused on identifying and dismantling the most dangerous criminal networks in Georgia’s Middle District.”
“This investigation deals a fatal blow to a once thriving ‘meth’ ring,” said Robert J. Murphy, the DEA Atlanta Field Division special agent in charge. “With the leader facing up to 40 years behind bars, the community of Warner Robins and elsewhere can rest assured that their communities are much safer today thanks to the excellent casework from DEA and our local law enforcement partners.”
“ATF considers the Organized Crime Task Force an important partner in its long-term mission to remove armed gangs, criminals and drug traffickers from our communities,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division.
“The Warner Robins Police Department is honored to have worked with our federal partners through the Organized Crime Task Force on Drugs to bring about the outcome of this case,” said Chief Wayne Fisher, Warner Robins Police Department. “Through such local, state and federal partnerships, impacts like this can be realized. It was the great work and effort of the men and women of this task force that led to these arrests, which will have an immeasurable impact on the well-being of our collective communities.”
According to documents and other evidence admissible to the court, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and Warner Robins Police Department officers investigated co-defendant Ontarrio Veal, aka Torrie, 32, of Warner Robins, a drug trafficking organization based at Warner Robins, from January to June 2020 Law enforcement obtained court orders to intercept the phone calls and text messages from Veal’s and co-defendant Tamara Hall’s cell phones. Agents learned that Veal was a multi-kilogram methamphetamine dealer and monitored Veal and various co-defendants who were conducting methamphetamine transactions and traveling to Atlanta to purchase large quantities of methamphetamine.
Veal was arrested June 1 on a return trip from Atlanta in possession of three kilograms of methamphetamine and a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a 50-round drum magazine. Agents executed search warrants at various locations in central Georgia and seized multiple firearms and ammunition, methamphetamine and more than $100,000 in cash. The organization is responsible for distributing more than 16 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Veal pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, followed by at least four years of supervised release and a $5,000,000 fine. The verdict is scheduled for March 7, 2023.
Seven other co-defendants have pleaded guilty and/or have been convicted in this case:
Reginald Lowe, 41, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on August 30, 2022 and was sentenced to 240 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release on December 6. 2022. Lowe’s federal sentence will follow a state sentence he is currently serving in Houston County, Georgia, on a felony assault conviction;
Milton Simmons aka Mann, 40, of Macon, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on August 1, 2022 and was sentenced to 120 months in prison on January 10;
Donna Ussery, 31, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess property with intent to distribute methamphetamine on April 19, 2022 and was sentenced to 100 months in prison on October 4, 2022;
Marquell Gaines aka Paris, 38, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to using a communications device to conspire to distribute methamphetamine on July 19, 2022 and was sentenced to 48 months in prison on October 11, 2022;
Tamara Hall, 39, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess property with intent to distribute methamphetamine on April 19, 2022, with sentencing scheduled for April 25;
Victor Mendoza, 34, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess drugs on December 1, 2022 via a global plea deal in the Southern District of Alabama and sentencing is scheduled for March 3; and
Eddie Linkhorn, 42, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to using a communications device to conspire to distribute methamphetamine on October 20, 2022 and the sentencing is scheduled for March 7.
This effort is part of an operation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-gathering, multi-agency approach. For more information about the OCDETF program, visit https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Warner Robins Police Department.
Assistant US Attorney Will Keyes is prosecuting the case.
