Eleven men sentenced to federal prison for role in drug trafficking organization

ATLANTA - Abdul Jamal Ali, Norian Anderson, Kasman Cox, Mark Antonio Goines, Alonzo Heard, Michael Mack, Tremaine Malcom, Hassan Pope, Roger Solario, Joseph Strickland, and Renardo Thomas have been sentenced for their roles as members of a drug trafficking organization in the metro-Atlanta area that was successfully disrupted following a federal, state, and local law enforcement investigation.

“The distribution of narcotics throughout our communities continues to pose a public safety and health threat that we must steadfastly confront,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Through our partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, we have successfully disrupted this organization’s supply chain, prosecuted the distributors and suppliers of these dangerous drugs, and sent a strong message to others involved in polluting our communities with these illegal substances.”

“Justice will always prevail as the most powerful force to remove these individuals off of the streets and out of our communities,” said Thomas E. Brown, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.

“Through hard work, this criminal enterprise has been dismantled,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “These violent drug traffickers had no regard for the potential impact of their actions.”

"Drug trafficking organizations are an imminent threat to our communities,” said Dan R. Salter, Executive Director, Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AC HIDTA) Task Force. “Federal, state and local law enforcement officers that make up this task force are committed to ridding our communities of these drug trafficking organizations spreading poison and violence in our neighborhoods.” 

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2020, Drug Enforcement Administration special agents, and Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force officers, identified a prolific drug trafficker in Atlanta, Hassan Pope.  Federal investigators learned that Pope was coordinating multiple narcotics transactions around his residence in College Park and maintaining a drug stash apartment in east Atlanta. Over the course of the investigation, agents identified many of Pope’s associates and obtained evidence of ongoing trafficking of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

Agents also identified Alonzo Heard and Tremaine Malcom as assisting Pope in his distribution and Abdul Jamal Ali, Norian Anderson, Kasman Cox, Mark Antonio Goines, Michael Mack, Roger Solario, Joseph Strickland, and Renardo Thomas as drug distributors working with or connected to Pope. Federal, state, and local law enforcement investigators obtained and executed multiple search warrants at locations utilized by the group’s drug trafficking organization and seized distribution quantities of drugs, hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug proceeds, firearms, vehicles, and other property used in the commission, or purchased with the proceeds, of the offenses.

Each of the following defendants pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and/or firearms offenses and received the following sentences imposed by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross:

• Abdul Jamal Ali, 41, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of nine years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;

• Norian Anderson, a/k/a “Knot,” 50, of Jonesboro, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of four years, eight months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;

• Kasman Cox, a/k/a “Cat” and “Tamario Davis,” 44, of Fayetteville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and received a sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;

• Mark Antonio Goines, a/k/a “Luckie,” 43, of Hampton, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release;

• Alonzo Heard, a/k/a “Pee-Wee,” 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of eight years, three months in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release;

• Michael Mack, a/k/a “Stank,” 49, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release;

• Tremaine Malcom, a/k/a “Twin,” 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of four years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;

• Hassan Pope, a/k/a “Ali,” “Hot,” and “Tyrone Dunn,” 46, of College Park, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and received a sentence of 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;

• Roger Solario, 29, of Marietta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of five years, three months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;

• Joseph Strickland, a/k/a “Joe,” 45, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of eight years, four months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release; and

• Renardo Thomas, a/k/a “Donald Garwood,” 44, of Fairburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of six years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service, with valuable assistance provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, Marietta Police Department, and South Fulton Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary S. Howard and Teresa M. Stolze prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.