Pelahatchie Man Convicted of Trafficking Heroin

Jackson, Miss.  – On January 25, 2023, a federal jury convicted a Pelahatchie man for trafficking heroin in Rankin and Hinds counties during 2017 and 2018.

U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca, Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Director Steve Maxwell of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics made the announcement.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, John Moore, also known as “Mo Money,” age 55, conspired with and supplied heroin to Erica Rhodes, of Forest, Mississippi.  Rhodes distributed and sold the heroin on multiple occasions in Pelahatchie and in the Jackson metropolitan area.

John Moore is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Erica Rhodes was convicted in Rankin County Circuit Court in 2019, receiving a 15-year jail sentence for her role in the drug trafficking operation. 

This case is the result of an extensive joint federal and state investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Rankin County District Attorney’s Office, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Ridgeland Police Department, the Pearl Police Department, the Flowood Police Department, the National Guard Counter Drug Unit, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jackson Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carla J. Clark and Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. 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.