Men sentenced to prison after inmate ordered two others to sell guns, drugs in northwest Georgia – WSB-TV Channel 2

Lina PortmanJune 2, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Three men have been sentenced to prison for trafficking guns, methamphetamine and fentanyl in northwest Georgia.

According to United States Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, around February 2022, James Lewallen Meeks, 39, an inmate at Wheeler Correctional Center in Alamo, Georgia, used a cell phone to sell guns and drugs with the help of Jamey Michael Latty, 45 years old. and Mark Anthony Powell, 43.

In March 2022, Meeks worked with Latty to sell methamphetamine in Rockmart, Georgia, and then sold meth and a Glock pistol to someone in Cave Springs, Georgia.

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Meeks also repeatedly worked with Powell to sell methamphetamine and a mixture of fentanyl and xylazine to the same person in Carrollton, Georgia.

Buchanan said Powell also sold ammunition and five firearms, including a .22-caliber UZI long rifle with silencer, under Meeks' instructions.

In April 2022, Latty sold ammunition and four guns, including an AR-style rifle, to the same person in Rome, Georgia.

Latty was arrested in Hiram, Georgia on June 2, 2022, with approximately a kilogram of methamphetamine.

The same day, Powell was arrested in Carrollton after leading police on a chase during which approximately a kilogram of methamphetamine was thrown out of Powell's truck window.

Police found a gun and a substance containing fentanyl in Powell's truck when he was arrested.

After Latty was charged, he fled to another state and assumed a false identity.

Multiple agencies worked together to locate him and Latty was located and arrested by Deputy U.S. Marshals in Collinsville, Alabama.

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and carrying a firearm during and in connection with a trafficking crime of drugs, the three men were convicted.

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Meeks was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, consecutive to the time he is already serving.

Latty was sentenced to 15 years and one month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Powell was sentenced to 10 years and seven months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release.

“While serving time for a violent crime in a Georgia correctional facility, Meeks continued his criminal activities by brokering a number of illegal gun and drug transactions with his co-defendants in northwest Georgia. Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Meeks will now serve two decades in federal prison after completing his state sentence, and his co-defendants will also be headed to federal prison.”

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