BRUNSWICK, Georgia – The final of eight defendants has been sentenced in federal court for his part in a Glynn County-area drug trafficking organization, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Derrick J. Young, 41, of Atlanta, previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute the drugs, according to U.S. Attorney R. Brian Tanner.
Recommended Videos
Young was sentenced to more than four years in prison by District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood. The 52-month sentence will run consecutive to a 24-month prison term imposed by Wood in June, for Young’s violation of supervised release stemming from a previous federal conviction, officials said.
The others convicted and sentenced as part of the investigation include:
James Lee Roberts, 44; serving 88 months in prison
Gladys Marie Moran, 46; serving 57 months in prison
Bruce Lenard Polite, 36; serving two years in prison
Oscar Cummings III, 40; serving 30 months in prison consecutive to a 33-month term
Joe Ferdinando Bryant, 41; serving 13 months in prison
Donald Eugene Wesley, 57; serving 18 months in prison
Sidney Devore Harrison, 42; serving 18 months in prison.
Law enforcement agents dismantled the drug organization through wiretaps, which is how they gathered their evidence, the Department of Justice said.
“Through the wiretap and other investigative steps, agents determined that Young, Roberts and other conspirators distributed multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine in the Brunswick area,” a statement from investigators reads. “More than two kilograms of cocaine and 17 pounds of marijuana were seized in operations related to this organization between May 15 and August 17, 2016.”
Nearly all the people indicted in the case were from Brunswick or Savannah and exploited their ties to the area to establish the drug business, Tanner said.
The convictions are thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.