Biloxi man pleads guilty to conspiring to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
Gulfport, Miss.– In a shocking turn of events, 20-year-old Malyk Harveston has pled guilty to conspiring to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to court documents and information presented to the Court, in 2020, the DEA and Gulfport Police Department began investigating a local drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of oxycodone, marijuana, alprazolam (“Xanax”), methamphetamine, and pressed fentanyl pills.
During the investigation, law enforcement learned that various members of the organization, like many drug traffickers, possessed firearms to protect themselves, their drugs, and the proceeds from their drug sales.
Malyk Harveston, 20, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. The investigation revealed that Harveston was a member of the drug trafficking organization and was principally a street-level trafficker of marijuana and alprazolam, which he would obtain from other members of the conspiracy and then redistribute.
Harveston also had a source for fake oxycodone pills. The investigation also revealed messages between Harveston and other members of the conspiracy in which they discussed the acquisition of firearms. Another member of the conspiracy advised Harveston to invest the proceeds from his drug sales in firearms.
Ultimately, in late May 2021, local law enforcement officials arrested Harveston. Harveston subsequently admitted to purchasing an American Tactical Rifle which was found in a vehicle registered to his mother. During the investigation, officers were able to determine that Harveston had acquired at least 5 different firearms.
Harveston is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17, 2022. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The DEA, Gulfport Police Department, and Biloxi Police Department investigated this case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner is prosecuting the case. This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the violent crime reduction efforts.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Malyk Harveston, 20 years old
Criminal Charges: Conspiring to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
City and State: Gulfport, Mississippi
Exact Date: May 2021 (arrest date) and June 17, 2022 (sentencing date)
Sentence or Outcome: Maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison
Dollar Amounts: None
Related Federal Cases
- Jeffery Rivers, Jr., Methamphetamine Trafficking, Mississippi 2021 · Alabama
- Shawn Wayne Ethridge, Possession of Firearm in Drug Trafficking, Mississippi 2020 · Washington
- Jerrell Tito Bowman, Drug and Gun Charges, North Carolina 2020 · Connecticut
- Shannon White, Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, North Carolina 2023 · North Carolina
- Tiffany Lynn Snider, Methamphetamine Distribution, Alabama 2020 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: Mississippi
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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