Lead Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced to 23 Years In Prison

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- On Nov. 9, 2016, Richard Alan Davis, 44, of Atlanta, was sentenced to serve 23 years in federal prison by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge.  Upon his release from prison, Davis will be supervised for five years by the U.S. Probation Office.    

Davis pleaded guilty to a federal indictment charging him with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine (meth).  He was a leader of a drug distribution network that trafficked high purity meth obtained in Atlanta into northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, operating out of several high-end hotel rooms in the Atlanta area and supplying dozens of conspirators with large quantities of meth.   

The investigation into Davis and his associates resulted in a series of nine federal cases in the Eastern District of Tennessee and dozens of individuals prosecuted by the state of Tennessee in the Third Judicial District.   Related cases were also brought in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and by the Tennessee First Judicial District Attorney General. Davis was the primary source of supply of the dozens of individuals prosecuted in these related cases.  The operation has also resulted in the seizure of approximately five kilograms of meth and 20 firearms. 

This investigation was a multi-year collaborative effort of numerous law enforcement agencies including the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Greeneville Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, Third Judicial Drug Task Force,  First Judicial Drug Task Force, Sandy Springs (Georgia) Police Department, Hall County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Drug Enforcement Administration. The Third and First Judicial District Attorney’s Offices in Tennessee actively partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a coordinated effort to advance this operation.  The Rabun County, Georgia District Attorney’s Office provided critical early assistance.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia also provided assistance in the shared efforts to combat Davis’ drug trafficking operations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Lee represented the United States in the Western District of Virginia.   Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Christian Lampe represented the United States in the Eastern District of Tennessee. 

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy.  OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.  Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.