Joseph Mincey Sentenced in ’21 Jump Street’ Drug Sting

Brunswick, GA — Joseph Mincey, 28, of Brunswick, Georgia, is headed to federal prison for six years after being caught selling cocaine to an undercover cop posing as a high school student. The sting, dubbed the ’21 Jump Street’ investigation by law enforcement, targeted drug dealers infiltrating local schools — and Mincey walked straight into the trap.

Mincey pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute, along with possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On January 2016, after multiple controlled buys in late 2015, agents moved in. When they raided his connection, they seized two loaded firearms, $2,300 in cash, several pounds of marijuana, cocaine, and drug packaging materials — a full-scale operation hidden in plain sight.

Investigators from the Glynn-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team (GBNET) launched the probe to root out dealers targeting underage students. Their weapon: a young-looking undercover officer embedded inside a local public high school. Mincey didn’t hesitate. He sold cocaine directly to the officer, believing him to be a student. Even more shocking — Mincey’s own grandmother helped facilitate deals while facing state drug charges of her own.

At sentencing, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood showed no leniency. Six years without parole — the federal standard — was handed down as a warning. U.S. Attorney Edward Tarver didn’t mince words: ‘It can’t get any worse than a drug dealer and his grandmother selling poison in our schools.’

Tarver emphasized the gravity of corrupting youth, calling Mincey’s actions a betrayal of community trust. ‘It is unfortunate that the life lessons learned by this Defendant led him to a 7-year federal prison sentence,’ Tarver said — noting that while the actual sentence was six years, the impact stretches far longer. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by GBNET and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Gregory Gilluly. For more information, contact First Assistant U.S. Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.