Defendants plead guilty, sentenced after WPRD, DEA, ATF investigation

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A co-conspirator in a Warner Robins based armed drug trafficking ring pleaded guilty in federal court to charges on May 25; another was sentenced the same day, according to a release by the Department of Justice.

Benjamin Luopa, 48, of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to two counts of use of a communication facility, facing a maximum sentence of four years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each count.

Sentencing for Luopa is scheduled for Sept. 7; meanwhile, Tamara Hall, 40, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced on May 25. Hall was sentenced to 210 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Multiple co-defendants, including the group’s ringleader, have either been sentenced or pleaded guilty:

•Ontarrio Veal aka “Torrie,” 33, of Warner Robins, was sentenced on April 4 to serve 420 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Donna Ussery, 31, of Warner Robins, was sentenced on Oct. 4, 2022 to serve 100 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Marquell Gaines aka “Paris,” 38, of Warner Robins, was sentenced on Oct. 11, 2022 to serve 48 months in prison for use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Reginald Lowe, 41, of Warner Robins, was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2022 to serve 240 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Milton Simmons aka “Mann,” 41, of Macon, was sentenced on Jan. 10 to serve 120 months to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Matthew Kay, 36, of Warner Robins, was sentenced on Jan. 19 to serve 235 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Parsa Ervin, 45, of Warner Robins, was sentenced on Jan. 19 to serve 57 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for two counts of use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

•Victor Mendoza, 34, of Warner Robins, will be sentenced on June 2 for conspiracy to possess with intent to drugs.

•Eddie Linkhorn, 42, of Warner Robins, will be sentenced on June 6 for two counts of use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The two hearings on May 25 were held before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III.

Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes prosecuted the case.

The charges stem from an investigation from Warner Robins Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. WRPD and the DEA began investigating the drug trafficking ring in January 2020, where they began intercepting text messages from Veal and Hall’s cell phones after obtaining court orders.

They discovered Veal was a meth dealer; through surveillance, they found him and the co-defendants making transactions and traveling to Atlanta to purchase meth.

Veal was arrested in June 2020, during a trip to Atlanta with three kilograms of meth, a Glock .40 semi-automatic pistol, and a 50-round drum magazine in his possession. At multiple locations in middle Georgia, agents seized several firearms, ammunition, meth and more than $100,000 in cash.

In total, the organization is responsible for distributing over 16 kilograms of meth, while Hall is responsible for distributing 4.5.

Multiple judicial, governmental, and agency officials spoke on this case, and the partnerships between agencies. U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary mentioned Hall’s role in the ring and the impact it makes on the community.

“Tamara Hall played a significant role in co-conspirator Ontarrio Veal’s armed criminal organization pushing many kilograms of methamphetamine into the Warner Robins area,” Leary said. “With the rise of fentanyl, it’s no secret that street drugs are even more dangerous, plus the other crimes that develop around this level of armed drug trafficking all contribute to community erosion. Thanks to the effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a significant supply of methamphetamine is cut off and the community is safer for it.”

Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, mentioned the impact of the investigation.

“This investigation deals a fatal blow to a once-thriving ‘meth’ ring,” Murphy said. “The citizens of Warner Robins and elsewhere can rest assured that their communities are much safer today thanks to the outstanding case work by DEA and our local law enforcement partners.”

WRPD Assistant Chief Wayne Fisher spoke on the partnership as well.

“The Warner Robins Police Department is honored to have worked in conjunction with our federal partners through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force which resulted in the outcome of this case,” Fisher said. “It is through such local, state and federal partnerships that impacts such as these can be realized. It was with great work and effort from the men and women of this task force which resulted in these arrests that will have an immeasurable impact for the good of our shared communities.”

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, according to the release, “identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.”

For more information about the task force, visit https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

HHJ News