Eddie Houston, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Georgia 2021

ALBANY, Ga. – A high-volume drug trafficking operation in southwest Georgia has come to a close with the sentencing of its final defendant, Eddie Houston, 43, of McDonough, Georgia.

Houston was sentenced to serve 200 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine before U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner on November 15, 2021. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Career criminal offenders will face the possibility of federal prosecution and lengthy prison sentences for choosing to repeatedly break the law and diminish the well-being and safety of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.

This case demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and its partners to end the methamphetamine epidemic that is ravaging communities across the country. The fact that Houston received such a lengthy sentence is an example of how serious this crime is and serves as a warning to anyone who is involved in drug trafficking that they will be brought to justice for their crimes.

Houston’s convicted co-defendants, Sherrod Winchester and James Malone, 52, both of Albany, regularly obtained and distributed large quantities of a variety of controlled substances for distribution in Albany and Panama City, Florida, since May 2018. Under surveillance, GBI agents observed Houston and convicted co-defendant Shannon Mason, 41, of Leesburg, Georgia, who regularly acted as an illegal drug courier for Winchester and Malone, conducting an exchange with a man at a drug store parking lot in Stone Mountain, Georgia, in February 2020.

Officers stopped and arrested Houston and Mason in possession of 1,106 grams of cocaine and 990 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride. Houston’s co-defendants, Winchester, Malone, and Mason, were convicted and sentenced earlier this year for their roles in operating a high-volume drug trafficking operation in Albany. The sentences handed down to them include 300 months in prison for Winchester, 240 months in prison for Malone, and 75 months in prison for Mason.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners will hold repeat offenders accountable for their crimes, as stated by U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is fully committed to working with local and federal partners in drug enforcement to address these types of crimes.

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