Foley Methamphetamine Dealers Sentenced to Federal Prison

MOBILE, AL – Two Foley men were sentenced to 188 months and 121 months in prison for conspiring to possess and possessing with intent to distribute more than six pounds of methamphetamine ice.

According to court documents, Thomas Lynn Lambeth, 40, and Chad Vernon Wallace, 39, worked together to obtain a shipment of bulk methamphetamine through the U.S. mail. On July 6, 2023, a codefendant, Victor Mauricio Gonzalez-Leon, mailed two packages containing methamphetamine from a post office in Cashion, Arizona. The packages, which purported to be from a car dealership in Phoenix, Arizona, were addressed to Lambeth at an address in Foley. U.S. Postal Inspectors intercepted the packages in Mobile and found a total of 3.1 kilograms of 97% pure methamphetamine ice inside them. Forensic latent print examiners identified Gonzalez-Leon’s fingerprints on the outside and inside of the packages. Federal agents arranged a controlled delivery of the packages at the post office in Foley.

On July 10, 2023, Lambeth visited the Foley post office to inquire about the status of the packages. Lambeth also called the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) to say he wanted the packages held for pickup at the Foley post office. On July 12, 2023, Lambeth directed Wallace to go to the post office to pick up the packages for him. Lambeth sent Wallace messages offering Wallace $2,000 and “a pound” to pick up the packages. Lambeth texted USPS tracking numbers and instructions to Wallace, writing, “Anything seem out of place just walk out.” When Wallace went to the Foley post office, he told USPS employees that Lambeth had asked him to pick up the packages for him. As Wallace walked out of the post office with the drug packages, federal agents arrested him. Agents searched Wallace’s cell phone, which contained dozens of messages that Lambeth, Wallace, and others exchanged regarding drug dealing.

United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Lambeth, who has a prior felony conviction for drug distribution, to serve 188 months in federal prison. In addition to the 188-month prison term, Judge Moorer ordered Lambeth to serve a 10-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will undergo drug testing and treatment. Judge Moorer sentenced Wallace to serve 121 months in prison and a five-year supervised release term upon his release. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Moorer ordered Lambeth and Wallace each to pay $200 in special assessments. Gonzalez-Leon is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Moorer in June 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The Avondale, Arizona Police Department provided substantial assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.