Buford man sentenced to federal prison in fentanyl distribution case

Nick Watson, The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
·2 min read

May 18—A Buford man who admitted to selling fentanyl every week for months was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, according to authorities.

Jamerris Head, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing fentanyl and was sentenced Wednesday, May 17, by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story.

Story recommended that Head be allowed to serve his sentence at a facility as close as possible to North Georgia and to participate in the intensive drug treatment program.

Head was accused of selling fentanyl to Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents in Lilburn.

"Fentanyl has claimed too many lives, especially from our youth," U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. "We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for working hard to prevent this deadly drug from claiming more lives in accidental overdoses."

Head's attorneys wrote in a sentencing memo that Head cooperated with the GBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, "providing pertinent information not only of his involvement with the crime but of other associates."

"Despite his upbringing, substance abuse and alcohol addiction and the many other challenges he endured, Mr. Head has been gainfully employed for extended periods of time with the same employers, which is an indication that if given the opportunity, Mr. Head can be a hardworking, respectful, law-abiding member of his community," his attorneys wrote.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said they found half of a kilogram of fentanyl, three firearms and more than $2,000 in cash in an apartment that Head used "to store his drugs and drug proceeds." His attorneys, however, objected to the idea that it was a stash house, writing that he was temporarily residing there.

The federal government said it seized more than 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl from Head through the sales and the searches of his apartment and vehicle.

"This does not include the fentanyl sold into the community by Head that law enforcement was too late to interdict," the U.S. Attorney's Office wrote. "For example, Head admitted to selling 4 to 9 ounces of fentanyl to one person in particular every week for the past six months. That amount of fentanyl distributed to the general population would pose a significant danger."

Following his prison sentence, Head will be on supervised release for five years.

Head's lead attorney, S. Fenn Little Jr., declined to comment.