A Columbia man was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

37-year-old Alfredric James, of Columbia, was sentenced on January 12, 2023, in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg.

According to court documents and trial testimony, on December 9, 2020, James retrieved a pound of pure methamphetamine hidden by two of his conspirators in a barbecue grill at a residence in Hattiesburg.  Having been alerted to the transaction, agents attempted to stop James’s vehicle. James fled but was apprehended with the meth after a short pursuit.  James was responsible for distributing over 8 kilograms of methamphetamine to the Hattiesburg area in a two-month period in the fall of 2020.

James was charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  He was subsequently found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court following a three-day trial in Hattiesburg.

The case is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed “Don’t Tell On Me Bro,” which began as an operation targeting illegal drug trafficking in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area. “Don’t Tell On Me Bro” is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. 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 case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Lamar County Sheriff’s Office, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Hattiesburg Police Department, Forrest County Sheriff’s, and the Columbia Police Department.