Alphonso White, Fentanyl Distribution, Georgia 2022

A Tifton, Georgia resident is facing up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to fentanyl distribution out of a local motel room. Alphonso White, 43, of Tifton, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on July 19 before U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands.

According to court documents, the Tift County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the distribution of fentanyl, heroin, and other illicit drugs in the community. As a result, investigators executed a search warrant on January 18, 2022, at the Howard Johnson motel room in Tifton where White was staying. Officers confronted White after he exited his motel room; White was carrying 32 bags of a brown substance and blue pills marked ‘M 30.’

The substances later tested positive for 8.544 grams of fentanyl. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, just two milligrams of fentanyl—an amount equivalent to 10-15 grains of table salt—is considered a lethal dose. White was in possession of approximately 4,272 lethal doses.

The case was investigated by the Tift County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Couch is prosecuting the case for the government.

“The defendant was in possession of roughly 4,200 deadly doses of fentanyl. I applaud Tift County Sheriff’s Office investigators for preventing an extremely dangerous drug from hitting the streets of Tifton,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.

Tift County Sheriff Gene Scarbrough added, “The Tift County Sheriff’s Office always stands ready to work with local, state, and federal authorities to help remove the scourge that fentanyl has become across this county.”

White faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, to be followed by at least three years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19. There is no parole in the federal system.

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