United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MACON - Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that Eulalio Martinez, age 38, a citizen of Mexico residing in Alma, Georgia, has been found guilty of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine 4,923 grams of pure (Count 1) and Illegal (Count 2), following a four-day jury trial before Senior District Court Judge Hugh Lawson in Macon. Mr. Martinez was indicted on the charges on June 14, 2017.

Evidence presented at trial proved that, on May 1, 2016, a confidential (CS) in Coffee County, Georgia, informed law enforcement agents that she had been approached by Martinez to drive him to Atlanta to pick up a quantity of crystal methamphetamine.

On May 2, 2016, using a tracking device, agents monitored the vehicle as it traveled hours north to Atlanta where it stopped for a 90 minutes at a convenience store. The CS indicated a young Hispanic male met Martinez at the store and directed them to an apartment complex near I-85 and Shallowford Road. Shortly after pulling into a parking space, the young male got out of the van and retrieved a cardboard box from a vehicle that pulled in next to the van. The young male placed the box into the CS’s vehicle and the CS drove off. During the drive back to South Georgia the CS overheard phone conversations Mr. Martinez had with Mexican sources indicating he was in possession of the methamphetamine.

At about 10:42 am, agents stopped the vehicle and took the passenger, Mr. Martinez, into custody. A search of the vehicle produced a box covered by a black jacket behind the driver’s seat in which there were three clear containers, which held a total of 11.6 pounds of crystal methamphetamine.

The Illegal Reentry charge was a result of Mr. Martinez’s being found in Tift County, Georgia on May 2, 2016 having been deported and removed from the United States on October 4, 2012 and not receiving the consent of the Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security to re-apply for admission to the country.

Mr. Martinez faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine, or both. His sentencing hearing will be held in August following a pre-sentence investigation and report.

“This case involves two of the top priorities of the Department of Justice and of my office, the sale of illegal drugs and the violation of our immigration laws. Methamphetamine is a scourge on the Middle District of Georgia. Mr. Martinez was not only in this country illegally, but chose to further break its laws by illegally distributing this highly addictive and extremely dangerous drug,” said United States Attorney Peeler.

Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “The success of this investigation was possible because of unified law enforcement cooperation and the subsequent prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As a result of a trial verdict, this Crystal Methamphetamine trafficker will now face a substantial monetary fine and significant prison time for the crimes he committed.”

This case was investigated by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, the Tift County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Sonja B. Profit and Tamara Jarrett prosecuted the case for the United States.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justthinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov. Also follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv