A Mount Olive father and son were both sentenced today to a little more than 16 years in prison on Federal drug charges, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office and the DEA.
Court documents say Steven Lawrence Hand, 53, and Steven Tyler Hand, 29, of Mount Olive, sold methamphetamine to an individual on multiple occasions in August of 2019 and both were found to be in possession of additional methamphetamine during a search of their respective residences on July 23, 2020. Both of them pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
The Hands will both serve 170 months in federal prison, officials said.
The case is the result of an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation dubbed “Operation: Bulldog,” which began as an operation targeting illegal methamphetamine distribution in south Mississippi. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Keesha D. Middleton prosecuted the case.
