Picayune Man Sentenced to Over 18 Years in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

Gulfport, Miss. –   A Picayune man was sentenced to 222 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

Joshua Smith, 39, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.   

According to court records, in 2015, an investigation began into a large-scale drug trafficking organization located largely in Picayune, MS (Pearl River County).  In 2018, Joshua Smith and another co-defendant were identified as being part of the conspiracy.  Federal agents used a confidential source to begin making purchases of methamphetamine.  On November 2, 2018, a DEA confidential source purchased 27.4g of actual methamphetamine at 99% purity from Joshua Smith in Picayune, Mississippi. 

Smith was indicted on September 7, 2022, and pled guilty on April 5, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.

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.