Major Drug Ring in Georgia Shut Down

A major prison drug ring that funneled meth and heroin into metro Atlanta is no more. The masterminds behind it—including inmates who ran deals from inside their cells—are headed to federal prison.

Investigators say the ring moved more than 14 kilos of meth and nearly a kilo of heroin, using contraband cell phones to orchestrate deals on the outside. But law enforcement shut them down, and now, the ringleaders are facing years behind bars.

“Several of the defendants even continued their criminal activity by orchestrating drug transactions from prison, posing a serious risk to public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr.  “These sentences reflect the dedication and collaborative efforts of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to disrupt the distribution of poisonous drugs into our communities.”

“These sentences reflect the destructive impact on the community caused by this drug trafficking organization,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “Wherever you operate, if you distribute dangerous drugs, DEA will find you and hold you accountable.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges and other information presented in court: In January 2018, special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) discovered that Jesus Garcia-Gutierez and Miguel Elorza, while inmates at the Jenkins Correctional Center in Millen, Georgia, used a contraband cellphone to arrange drug transactions outside the prison facility.  Garcia-Gutierez and Elorza worked with numerous individuals outside the prison to coordinate several methamphetamine and heroin deals in the metro Atlanta area.

The defendants’ drug trafficking activity included the following conduct:  

• On May 24, 2018, Garcia-Gutierez arranged for David Crider, Jr. to receive two ounces of methamphetamine from another individual in Atlanta.  Following the deal, Georgia State Patrol (GSP) troopers stopped Crider’s vehicle and seized the drugs.

• On June 3, 2018, Anthony Bernard Jordan consulted with Garcia-Gutierez and then arranged for Sheila Hardy, Larry Mosley, and Nathaniel Jackson to travel from Albany, Georgia to Atlanta, to pick up heroin and methamphetamine from another drug dealer.  After the trio obtained the drugs, GSP troopers stopped their vehicle and seized 982 grams of methamphetamine and 475 grams of heroin. 

• On August 16, 2018, Christopher Butler, who was Elorza’s former cellmate, coordinated with Joseph Brown to sell a kilogram of methamphetamine to a drug customer in Douglasville, Georgia. But Butler and Brown saw Douglas County Sheriff’s officers following them prior to the deal and discarded the drugs in a neighborhood yard, which were recovered by the officers.

• On August 30, 2018, Quantavius Foster, who was a counselor at the Jenkins Correction Center, met with Corea-Uriostegui in Augusta, Georgia to obtain over 100 grams of methamphetamine to smuggle into the prison for Garcia-Gutierez.  The plan was foiled when Richmond County Sheriff’s officers stopped Foster’s vehicle and seized the drugs.  

• On October 16, 2018, Garcia-Gutierez instructed Darrell White, an Alabama heroin distributor, to travel to Doraville, Georgia to pick up drugs from another individual.  After the deal, GSP troopers stopped White’s vehicle and discovered more than 100 grams of heroin hidden in White’s clothes.

• On November 1, 2018, Garcia-Gutierez and Corea-Uriostegui arranged for Tiffany Julian and Jonathan Tyler Bryant to pick up 76 grams of methamphetamine and 48 prescription pills from a drug supplier in Atlanta.  After this deal, Bryant led GSP] troopers on a high-speed chase on Interstate 75 South through midtown Atlanta. During the pursuit, Bryant and Julian tossed the drugs from the car window, which were later recovered by law enforcement.  

In total, the organization was responsible for the distribution of 14 kilograms of methamphetamine and 860 grams of heroin in the Northern District of Georgia.

All of the defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg as follows:

• Jesus Garcia Gutierez, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 15 years, six months in prison, consecutive to a state sentence, followed by five years of supervised release.

• Miguel Elorza, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, served consecutive to a state sentence, followed by five years of supervised release.

• Anthony Bernard Jordan, 33, of Albany, Georgia, was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

• Nathaniel Jackson, 65, of Albany, Georgia, was sentenced to seven years, six months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

• Tiffany Julian, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to six years, six months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

• Darrell White, 41, of Anniston, Alabama, was sentenced to six years, five months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

• Christopher Butler, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to six years, two months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

• David Crider, Jr., 52, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to five years in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

• Jonathan Tyler Bryant, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to four years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

• Berenice Corea-Uriostegui, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to three years, four months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

• Larry Mosley, 46, of Albany, Georgia, was sentenced to three years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

• Sheila M. Hardy, 51, of Albany, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, one month in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

• Quantavius Foster, 33, of Swainsboro, Georgia, was sentenced to one year, three months in prison followed by one year of supervised release.

• Joseph Brown, 58, of Villa Rica, Georgia, was sentenced to one year, one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.