Rankin County Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Cocaine Conspiracy

Jackson, Miss. – Leon Brown, 51, of Rankin County, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to 60 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release and a $1,500 fine, for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Derryle Smith.

This case is the result of an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed "Rock Bottom," which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in the central Mississippi area. During the investigation, agents intercepted telephone calls wherein Brown was distributing kilogram amounts of cocaine. Based on his role in the conspiracy, Brown was responsible for as much as 15 kilograms of cocaine.

The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from: the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, the Ridgeland Police Department, the Jackson Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the Brandon Police Department, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Pearl Police Department, the Flowood Police Department, the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol, and the DEA Houston Field Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wansley.