Three sentenced in drug operation

ALBANY — Three men have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a cocaine operation, U.S. prosecuters say.

Officials from the the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said Friday that Eddie Lee Perry, 43, of Cairo; Joseph Davenport, 52, of Thomasville, and Brandon Perry, 22, were sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands.

Perry was sentenced to serve 240 months in federal prison, Davenport was sentenced to a mandatory life imprisonment based on prior cocaine convictions and Perry received 18 months and credit for time served, according to prosecuters.

A fourth individual, Chad Ragin, was not sentenced Thursday.

Evidence presented at trial in August showed, that during 2013, Perry, Davenport and Ragin were part of a criminal organization distributing cocaine and crack cocaine in Cairo. Officials said Ragin acted as a courier of drugs and money between Perry and Roger Ross, of Miami. Davenport “cooked” powder cocaine, converting it to crack cocaine.

The organization was responsible for trafficking and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine, officials said.

Ross was sentenced in October to 30 years imprisonment, followed by a term of supervised release of eight years. Perry entered a guilty plea on Nov. 17, officials said.

The case was investigated by the Thomas County Vice/Narcotics Squad, Thomasville Police Department, Grady County Sheriff’s Office, Cairo Police Department, Pelham Police Department, Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles District Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah E. McEwen prosecuted the case.