Savannah Drug Dealer Convicted Of Trafficking Heroin and Possessing Firearms

SAVANNAH, GA: Darius Andre “Arnie” Holmes, 41, of Savannah, Georgia, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury after a two-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr. for distributing heroin and possessing firearms as a felon on August 18, 2015.

According to the evidence presented during at trial, Holmes sold heroin to a confidential police informant on multiple occasions in August 2015.  After Holmes expressed to the informant a desire to buy firearms, local law enforcement officers contacted the ATF and arranged for an undercover officer to allow Holmes to exchange drugs for semiautomatic weapons.  Immediately after the trade, Holmes was arrested.

United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver stated, “It is appalling to believe that an individual with a criminal history that spanned parts of three decades was somehow able to continue his reign of crime in the community.  The Department of Justice and this United States Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively enforce federal firearms and narcotics laws.  We will not surrender any community to drug dealers and individuals who have embraced crime as their life’s work.  We will work hand-in-hand with our federal and state law enforcement partners to return to prison dangerous felons who pollute our community with guns, drugs and fear.”

Holmes’s criminal history in the Savannah area stretches back nearly 25 years.  His prior felonies include seven separate Sales of Cocaine, Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Robbery by Intimidation, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Felony, Possession of a Sawed-Off Shotgun, Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Assault, Use of a Communication Facility to Facilitate Sales of Controlled Substances, Possession of Tools with Intent to Commit Sales of Controlled Substances, and Obstruction.

If deemed to be an Armed Career Criminal, Holmes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and 5 years of supervised release on the firearms count.  He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and three years of supervised release on each of the heroin distribution counts.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT) and the ATF.  The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department SWAT team assisted with Holmes’ arrest, and the GBI and Chatham County Sheriff’s Office provided additional support.  The case was prosecuted as part of Project Ceasefire, a joint federal, state and local firearms initiative involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF and various local police departments.

Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph D. Newman and Theodore S. Hertzberg prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.  For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.