Talladega Man Sentenced to More than 19 Years in Prison on Drug Trafficking Charges

ANNISTON, Ala. –  Today, a federal judge sentenced a Talladega man on drug charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley.

U.S. District Court Judge Corey Maze sentenced Antoine Marque McClellan, 32, to 232 months in prison. McClellan pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in October 2022.

According to the plea agreement, Anniston police officers conducted two traffic stops, within two days, on vehicles occupied by McClellan.  On June 11, 2021, Anniston police officers conducted a traffic stop in Heflin, on a vehicle driven by McClellan.  Upon searching the vehicle, officers recovered a plastic bag containing marijuana and a clear plastic bag containing methamphetamine.  In the trunk of the vehicle, officers recovered a backpack containing three more clear plastic bags containing methamphetamine.

On June 12, 2021, an Anniston police officer conducted a traffic stop in Anniston on a vehicle in which McClellan was a passenger. Officers recovered five individual bags of “ice” methamphetamine from a cardboard box stuffed under the spare tire in the trunk of the vehicle.

In total, officers recovered over six kilograms of pure methamphetamine from McClellan.

This investigation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Operation Lengua Doble. OCDETF is an independent component of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Established in 1982, OCDETF is the centerpiece of the Attorney General’s strategy to combat transnational-organized-crime and to reduce the availability of illicit narcotics in the nation by using a prosecutor-led, multi-agency approach to enforcement.  OCDETF leverages the resources and expertise of its partners in concentrated, coordinated, long-term enterprise investigations of transnational organized crime, money laundering, and major drug trafficking networks.

The DEA investigated the case, along with the 7^th Judicial Major Crimes Unit and the Anniston Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Garnett prosecuted the case.