Tallapoosa County Man Sentenced in Federal Court to 248 Months for Drug and Firearms Violations
Montgomery, Alabama - James Harold Griffith, 37, of Dadeville, Alabama, was sentenced in federal district court on January 8, 2010, to 248 months’ imprisonment and 8 years’ supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary announced today. Griffith was convicted on October 21, 2009, of six counts relating to the manufacture and possession of methamphetamine and firearms violations.
Griffith had been charged with manufacturing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime of manufacturing the methamphetamine, simple possession of methamphetamine, using a place to manufacture methamphetamine, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Following the trial, Griffith was convicted on all counts.
He was sentenced to 188 months for his conviction on the charges of manufacturing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, simple possession of methamphetamine, using a place to manufacture methamphetamine, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also sentenced to an additional 60 months for his conviction on the charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime of manufacturing methamphetamine.
The case was investigated and prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which seeks to prevent violent crime through enforcement of the federal firearms laws, such as the law prohibiting the possession of firearms in connection with drug trafficking. The program is known as Alabama ICE in the Middle District of Alabama. U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary stated, “I hope this lengthy sentence sends a strong message to felons who possess firearms and drugs that these type activities will not be tolerated in the Middle District of Alabama. My office will continue to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law and seek the longest sentences possible.”
This case was investigated through the joint efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) and the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys W. Brent Woodall and Louis V. Franklin, Sr.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: usaalm.press@usdoj.gov
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617
