Two California men have pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a scheme that ended when suspects tried to sell fentanyl to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent in Gulfport, court records show.
Jayma Edward Nettles, 46, of Compton, California pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 113 grams of fentanyl. Booker Washington, 52, also of Compton pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Authorities said the men were members of a California drug-trafficking organization that had sent narcotics to Mississippi since 2019.
An investigation found the alleged traffickers sent 5,766 grams of pure methamphetamine, 236 grams of fentanyl, 84.2 grams of cocaine and 7.8 kilograms of marijuana to the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi said in a news release Friday. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid far stronger than morphine that has led to thousands of overdose deaths across the country.
Court records show two other defendants in the case -- Shawn Dewayne Seymore and Alain Delon Revis -- are set for trial in September.
The case began in October 2022 after undercover DEA agents in Gulfport contacted Seymore by phone and tried to purchase 1,000 fentanyl pills, according to court records.
A criminal complaint says Seymore called Nettles and asked if he had any “little blue ones,” in reference to fentanyl pills. DEA agents intercepted the phone call.
The complaint accuses Seymore of asking Nettles to send $2,000 worth of counterfeit pills to Mississippi. DEA agents received the package and found one clear bag of 113 grams of fentanyl in the form of light blue tablets, court records say.
The investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation that identifies drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and other criminal organizations.
Nettles will be sentenced on November 20 and faces up to 40 years in prison. Washington will be sentenced August 15 and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
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