Mississippi Man Sentenced on Gun and Drug Charges

 United States Attorney Richard Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Zachery Joseph Cooley, 35, of Quitman, Mississippi, was sentenced today in federal court on charges involving his participation in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine ice, four counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count charging his illegal possession of firearms in furtherance of that scheme, and two counts of illegally possessing firearms after having been convicted of domestic violence.  Cooley was convicted by a jury on June 29, 2017, after a trial conducted by United States District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade.  Evidence from the trial showed that Cooley was responsible for the distribution of at least 3 kilograms of methamphetamine ice during the time the conspiracy was active.  He sold methamphetamine ice to confidential informants working for authorities, and was arrested in possession of that drug on the specific instances charged in the indictment.  On two of those occasions, he was found in possession of a firearm.  Cooley has three prior convictions for a crime of domestic violence, which renders his possession of a firearm illegal under federal law.  During the trial, the evidence showed that Cooley also possessed at least one gun in furtherance of the drug distribution conspiracy. 

 This afternoon, Judge Granade sentenced Cooley to 295 months’ imprisonment, which consisted of 120 months on the two charges of illegal possession of a firearm, and 235 months on the drug counts.  She ordered that all those sentences would run concurrently.  For the count charging that the possession of the gun furthered the drug conspiracy, Cooley was sentenced to 60 months consecutive to the other sentences for a total of 295 months.  The judge gave Cooley credit for 12 months he spent in state custody in Mississippi on related drug charges there.   Cooley will serve 5 years of supervised release when he is released from custody, and the judge also ordered that he pay $800 in special mandatory assessments.  No fine was imposed.  Cooley will undergo treatment for drug abuse while in prison and as a condition of his supervised release. 

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Mobile Police Department, and the Mobile County Street Narcotics Enforcement Team  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.
 
 A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/