Pelahatchie Man Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for Trafficking Heroin

Jackson, Miss. – A Pelahatchie man was sentenced to 78 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca, Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Director Steve Maxwell of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

According to court documents, John “Mo Money” Moore, 55, possessed heroin with the intent to distribute it on four separate occasions in 2017 and 2018.  A joint federal and state investigation resulted in the conviction of Moore in connection with the distribution of large amounts of heroin over several months.  Moore supplied heroin to Erica Rhodes of Forest, Mississippi.  Rhodes distributed and sold the heroin on multiple occasions in Pelahatchie and in the Jackson metropolitan area. 

In January 2023, a jury convicted Moore after a trial in U.S. District Court in Jackson.  Rhodes was convicted in Rankin County Circuit Court and received a 15-year sentence for her role in the drug trafficking operation.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Rankin County District Attorney’s Office, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Ridgeland Police Department, the Pearl Police Department, the Flowood Police Department, the National Guard Counter Drug Unit, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jackson Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carla J. Clark and Charles W. Kirkham are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.