Tawasaki Leonorda Williams, Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent, Montgomery, Alabama 2021

A Montgomery man has been sentenced to 75 months in prison after a 5-year-old girl’s book bag was found to contain a substantial quantity of drugs, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.

Tawasaki Leonorda Williams, a 35-year-old from Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 75 months in prison for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The sentence comes after Williams pleaded guilty to the charges in November of 2020. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on February 21, 2020, officers with the Montgomery Police Department stopped a vehicle being driven by Williams after they observed him commit a traffic infraction.

Once Williams was stopped, he was removed from the vehicle along with a 5-year-old girl who was sitting in the back seat. During the stop, a K9 unit conducted a free-air search around the vehicle and gave a positive alert, indicating narcotics were present in the car.

Officers searched the vehicle and located a .45 caliber pistol under the driver’s seat and a substantial quantity of drugs, including powder cocaine and numerous hydrocodone pills. The cocaine, pills and approximately $2,400.00 in cash were found in the little girl’s book bag, which had been sitting next to her on the seat.

During a pat down of Williams, methamphetamine was found in his pocket.

Williams has multiple previous felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Montgomery Police Department investigated this case, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Bates prosecuted the case.

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