Pearl Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin Conspiracy

Gulfport, Miss – Howard Lee Walker, 30, of Pearl, Mississippi, pled guilty today, before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden, to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Derryle Smith with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

On July 6, 2018, Biloxi police responded to a call about a female attempting to pass a $100 counterfeit bill at Walmart. When officers arrived, they stopped a van driven by the female, who they identified as Erica Wooldridge of Jackson, Mississippi. Walker was a passenger in Wooldridge’s vehicle. Officers were notified that both individuals had warrants for their arrest.

Upon receiving consent to search Wooldridge’s vehicle, officers located a loaded 9mm pistol under the front console and numerous pills throughout the vehicle. Walker admitted to riding with Wooldridge from Jackson to Biloxi to sell the pills. Wooldridge and Walker thought they were selling Percocet, or Oxycodone; however, after testing, analysts determined the pills actually contained heroin and aspirin.

Walker will be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on March 7, 2019, and faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Wooldridge pled guilty on October 4, 2018, and will be sentenced on January 10, 2019. She faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

The case was investigated by DEA and the Biloxi Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk.