Warner Robins men face prison, fines in Middle Georgia drug trafficking case
Two Warner Robins men were sentenced to prison after being convicted of operating a drug trafficking organization in Middle Georgia, according to a news release from Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards on Thursday.
Patrick Marshall, 46, and Jerod Hughes, 36, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking-related charges on April 7, in the middle of a weeklong trial. At that point, prosecutors introduced “a portion of its evidence to the jury” about how the men brought cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine to distribute in Middle Georgia, according to the news release.
Marshall pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; He was sentenced to 20 years, followed by 15 years of probation, the news release stated. Hughes pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation.
Marshall was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine; Hughes was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, the news release said.
“This case was not about isolated drug activity — it was about dismantling a coordinated trafficking operation that was bringing large quantities of illegal narcotics into Houston County and distributing them throughout Middle Georgia,” Edwards said. “That kind of organized criminal activity poses a direct threat to the safety and stability of our communities.”
They bought drugs from Atlanta suppliers
The Middle Georgia Regional Drug Task Force launched an investigation into Marshall’s drug trafficking organization. The task force received information that “he was supplying large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and other illegal narcotics to Houston County and the Middle Georgia area,” the news release said.
The investigation determined that Marshall and Hughes were buying drugs from suppliers in Atlanta. They then transported it back to Middle Georgia to distribute, according to the news release.
Multiple search warrants were executed at residences linked to Marshall’s drug trafficking organization. Investigators found “trafficking quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and other illegal narcotics,” the news release said.
“Seventeen individual members of the drug trafficking organization were arrested in connection with this investigation,” the news release said.
