Eddie Dewayne Whipple, 38, of Toomsboro, Georgia, is headed to federal prison for 151 months after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The sentence, handed down November 30, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell in Macon, caps a drug operation unraveled by a suspicious FedEx package and a foot chase down a rural Georgia road.
The trouble began February 19, 2015, when DEA agents in Arizona flagged a shipment believed to contain marijuana, en route to a home in Wilkinson County. The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office was notified, and local law enforcement set up surveillance. The next day, officers watched as Whipple stood outside his house, eyes locked on two men who retrieved the delivery from a neighboring residence and stashed it in the back of his Chevrolet Caprice.
Whipple didn’t wait around. He climbed into the vehicle and took off on Highway 57. Authorities tailed him at a distance before moving in when he pulled into a driveway. As officers approached, Whipple bolted on foot, ditching a black jacket as he ran. He didn’t get far. Cops tackled him to the ground—inside the jacket, they found a baggie of cocaine.
With Whipple in custody, he consented to a search of his car. Inside, wrapped and hidden, was a massive payload: nearly 50 pounds of marijuana—20.14 kilograms, to be exact. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed the haul, sealing Whipple’s fate with hard forensic evidence.
A search warrant executed on Whipple’s home turned up more contraband: cans with false bottoms packed with both marijuana and cocaine. The GBI Crime Lab tested the white powder—31.86 grams came back as pure cocaine. Every ounce added fuel to the federal case building against him.
The investigation was a joint operation involving the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force, and the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonja Profit prosecuted. For questions, contact Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, at (478) 621-2603.
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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