Wayne L. McKinley, Heroin and Cocaine Distribution, Georgia 2023

Athens, Georgia, Career Offender Sentenced to Prison for Federal Crimes

A federal career offender in Athens, Georgia, with a lengthy criminal history has been sentenced to serve 18 years in federal prison. Wayne L. McKinley, 36, of Athens, was found guilty of one count of distribution of heroin and one count of distribution of cocaine.

McKinley was sentenced to serve 220 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to the charges before U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on September 18. He is not eligible for parole.

“Federal prosecutors will not turn a blind eye to repeat criminal activity by violent offenders in Athens or elsewhere in the Middle District of Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.

McKinley has prior convictions in the Athens-Clarke County community for aggravated assault, distribution of controlled substances, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, robbery by sudden snatching, terroristic threats, and criminal trespassing.

According to court documents, FBI confidential informants contacted McKinley to purchase heroin and cocaine from him in May 2016. The informants agreed to meet McKinley at an apartment complex on Fourth Street in Athens. Under surveillance, McKinley sold the illegal drugs to the informants, and was taken into custody.

This case was investigated by the FBI Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison prosecuted the case for the Government.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/athens-georgia-career-offender-sentenced-prison-federal-crimes