Jack Mayfield, Jr., Aiding and Abetting in Illicit Moonshine Production, Tennessee 2015

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – In a crackdown on illicit moonshine production in East Tennessee, two men have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in a large-scale operation.

Jack Mayfield, Jr., 49, of Newport, Tenn., and James Carrol Hickman, 41, of Dandridge, Tenn., were both convicted of aiding and abetting in the illegal production of distilled spirits by a person who was not an authorized distiller.

Mayfield owned and operated a large-scale illegal moonshine production operation in the Carson Springs area of Cocke County, which included over fifteen 400-gallon moonshine stills housed in two separate buildings, and a separate proofing room where the moonshine was processed into a finished product and packaged for sale.

According to court documents, Mayfield employed numerous people to work at the operation, including co-defendant Hickman and Michael Steve Reece. Mayfield admitted in his plea agreement that he had produced illegal moonshine at the site from at least January 2003 until a search warrant was executed at the property in April 2013.

Mayfield pleaded guilty to the moonshining charge and two counts of possessing a machine gun in October 2014. He was sentenced on April 2, 2015, to serve 33 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Hickman was convicted in December 2014 following a two-day jury trial. He was sentenced on April 21, 2015, to serve 33 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

This investigation was the result of the collaborative efforts of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and Cocke County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Kerney-Quillen and J. Christian Lampe represented the United States.

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