Meridian Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking

Jackson, Miss. – Kenneth Dewayne Williams, 45, of Meridian, pled guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams of a detectible amount of cocaine hydrochloride, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Derryle Smith.

The case is the result of an extensive investigation dubbed Operation "Deadly Dose" which began as an initiative targeting illegal narcotics distribution in central Mississippi that involved the distribution of heroin and cocaine. During the investigation, agents learned of an upcoming cocaine transaction between Williams and a coconspirator. On December 4, 2017, agents conducted a traffic stop of Williams on Interstate 20 east of Jackson, where agents seized approximately 2 kilograms of cocaine and $17,000.00.

Williams will be sentenced by Judge Jordan on June 28, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine, followed by a term of supervised release of at least 4 years.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wansley.