South Georgia drug distributor sentenced to federal prison
Henry ‘Poochie’ Austin of Valdosta sentenced on Wednesday to 125 months in prison
A Columbus resident with a violent criminal history was convicted by a federal jury on charges related to armed methamphetamine trafficking.
File Photo
From Staff Reports
VALDOSTA— A cocaine distributor in south Georgia involved in trafficking hundreds of kilograms of the drug will spend more than 10 years in prison for his crimes, Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Charles Peeler said.
Henry “Poochie” Austin II, 49, of Valdosta was sentenced to 125 months in prison and six years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson. Austin was convicted in October of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base following a three-day trial and one hour of jury deliberations.
There is no parole in the federal court system.
Peeler said Austin was involved in a cocaine and crack cocaine distribution ring between 2013 and 2014 stretching from Atlanta to south Georgia — including Tifton, Valdosta, Omega, Hahira, Adel, Moultrie and other nearby communities. Austin and 18 co-conspirators, all who previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced, distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine sold as powder and also manufactured into crack cocaine, averaging between 10-15 kilograms of cocaine per week.
Court officials said Austin’s drug dealing career is known to date back to the 1990s.
“A dangerous drug ring moving hundreds of kilos of cocaine across our state is ended, and all involved have now faced the consequences of their crimes,” Peeler said. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners who are tracking down and stopping these illegal and deadly drug networks from causing more harm in our communities.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Mid-South Narcotics Task Force and the sheriff’s offices in Tift, Crisp, Cook, Colquitt and Lowndes counties. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Bowen and Michael Solis prosecuted the case for the federal government.
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