Cuyler Brownsville Heroin Dealer Sentenced To 160 Months in Prison

Project Safe Neighborhood operation results in 32 federal convictions and significant time in prison

SAVANNAH, GA: A convicted heroin dealer and career criminal was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison during a hearing in United States District Court on Monday.

United States District Judge William T. Moore Jr. sentenced Tyrone Williams, 43, of Savannah, to serve 160 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Williams was arrested as part of the coordinated federal, state and local law enforcement investigation into violence and drug dealing in the historic Cuyler Brownsville, or CBV, community of Savannah under the U.S. Department of Justice Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. A federal grand jury indicted Williams and 31 other defendants as part of this operation. All of those arrested have been convicted, including Williams, who pled guilty on April 3 to distributing heroin in CBV, resulting in the sentence of more than a decade in prison.

As noted in court records and stated in court hearings, Williams has a documented criminal history spanning more than 25 years, with at least 10 felony convictions that include drug and firearms offenses.

“The basic premise behind the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods is to make neighborhoods safer,” said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “Removing drug dealers makes neighborhoods safer, and the very real possibility of hard jail time warns any other criminals who would attempt to take their place. This operation in Cuyler Brownsville also reassures law-abiding citizens of their vital role in helping to clean up their neighborhoods by reporting the criminals who seek to profit from their misery.”

Tim Graden, Resident Agent in Charge of the Savannah Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said “This prosecution is another example of ATF’s commitment to ensure the public’s safety by removing violent drug traffickers from our communities. These results could not have occurred without the outstanding partnerships that we have with our law enforcement partners and the community.”

Lindsay Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Southeastern Regional Drug Enforcement Office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said “The investigation into the criminal elements within the CBV neighborhood, along with the successful prosecutions of multiple defendants, can be attributed to the collaborative efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. These partnerships are a valuable asset to combating crime in all areas within the state of Georgia.”

Roy Minter, the Savannah Police Department Director of Police Services, said “Identifying and removing dangerous criminals from our community is a top priority for the Savannah Police Department. The arrest, conviction and sentencing of Tyrone Williams is another example of our strong partnership with our local, state and federal law enforcement officials. We will continue to work collaboratively with these officials to remove dangerous criminals and drugs from our community.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, with assistance from the United States Marshals investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Gilluly, Tania Groover, and Matthew Josephson prosecuted this case.

For any questions, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (912) 652-4422.