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Date: 05-30-2023

Case Style:

United States of America v. Tamara Hall

Case Number: 5:22-cr-00006

Judge: Tilman E. "Tripp" Self

Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (Bibb County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Macon

Defendant's Attorney:




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Description: Macon, Georgia criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with armed drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing 16 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Tamara Hall, 40, of Warner Robins, Georgia, was pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on April 19, 2022. Benjamin Luopa, 48, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to two counts of use of a communication facility. Luopa faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each count. The hearings occurred before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III on May 25. Sentencing for Luopa is scheduled for Sept.7. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Tamara Hall played a significant role in co-conspirator Ontarrio Veal’s armed criminal organization pushing many kilograms of methamphetamine into the Warner Robins area,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “With the rise of fentanyl, it’s no secret that street drugs are even more dangerous, plus the other crimes that develop around this level of armed drug trafficking all contribute to community erosion. Thanks to the effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a significant supply of methamphetamine is cut off and the community is safer for it.”

“This investigation deals a fatal blow to a once-thriving ‘meth’ ring,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “The citizens of Warner Robins and elsewhere can rest assured that their communities are much safer today thanks to the outstanding case work by DEA and our local law enforcement partners.”

“ATF considers the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force a critical partner in its long-term mission of removing armed gangs, criminals and narcotics traffickers from our communities,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division.

“The Warner Robins Police Department is honored to have worked in conjunction with our federal partners through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force which resulted in the outcome of this case,” said Assistant Chief Wayne Fisher, Warner Robins Police Department. “It is through such local, state and federal partnerships that impacts such as these can be realized. It was with great work and effort from the men and women of this task force which resulted in these arrests that will have an immeasurable impact for the good of our shared communities.”

According to documents and other evidence admitted into court, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and Warner Robins Police Department officers investigated Ontarrio Veal’s Warner Robins-based drug trafficking organization from Jan. to June 2020. Law enforcement obtained court orders to intercept the phone calls and text messages from Veal’s and Hall’s cell phones. Agents learned that Veal was a multi-kilogram methamphetamine dealer and surveilled Veal, Hall and various co-defendants conducting methamphetamine transactions and traveling to Atlanta to purchase large quantities of methamphetamine.

Veal was taken into custody in June 2020, on a return trip from Atlanta in possession of three kilograms of methamphetamine and a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a 50-round drum magazine. Agents executed search warrants at various locations in Middle Georgia, seizing multiple firearms and ammunition, methamphetamine and more than $100,000 cash. Hall is being held responsible for distributing 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. The organization is responsible for distributing more than 16 kilograms of methamphetamine.

The following co-defendants have pleaded guilty and/or been sentenced:

Ontarrio Veal aka “Torrie,” 33, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Nov. 15, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 420 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release on April 4;

Matthew Kay, 36, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Sept. 6, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 235 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release to run consecutively to three sentences he is currently serving in Houston County, Georgia, on Jan. 19.;

Reginald Lowe, 41, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Aug. 30, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release to run consecutively to a state sentence he is currently serving in Houston County, Georgia, for an aggravated assault conviction on Dec. 6, 2022;

Milton Simmons aka Mann, 41, of Macon, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Aug. 1, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 120 months on Jan. 10;

Donna Ussery, 31, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on April 19, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 100 months in prison on Oct. 4, 2022;

Parsa Ervin, 45, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to two counts of use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Aug. 30, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release to run consecutively to any term of imprisonment that may be imposed in three separate cases in Houston County on Jan. 19.;

Marquell Gaines aka Paris, 38, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on July 19, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison on Oct. 11, 2022;

Victor Mendoza, 34, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to drugs on Dec. 1, 2022, via a global plea agreement in the Southern District of Alabama and sentencing is scheduled for June 2; and

Eddie Linkhorn, 42, of Warner Robins, pleaded guilty to two counts of use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Oct. 20, 2022, and sentencing is scheduled for June 6.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Warner Robins Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes.

21:846 Conspiracy to Possess with intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to serve 210 Months Imprisonment to be served consecutively to any term of Imprisonment imposed in Crisp Count, GA Superior Court for criminal conduct resulting in an arrest in June 16, 2022; 3 years Supervised Release; $100.00 MAF

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