Heroin and gun violation guilty plea sends Athens man to prison for 24 years
An Athens man will serve a lengthy term in a federal prison for his role in a heroin distribution organization.
Rodrick “RT” Taylor, 40, was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison after he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of heroin with intent to distribute and using a gun to further drug trafficking.
U.S. District Judge Ashley Royal imposed the sentence.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Macon, which handled the prosecution, reported Tuesday that Taylor was identified as a dealer in Athens by information gained by wiretaps into a drug organization operated by Rickshun “Teddy” Willingham, according to the report.
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Willingham was also arrested in the investigation. He pleaded guilty to charges in 2021 and died in custody in June 2021 at the age of 33.
Federal agents searched Taylor’s home in Bogart on May 27, 2020, and seized a .40-caliber pistol, which he possessed unlawfully due to being a convicted felon.
FBI agents reported they learned Taylor was selling heroin from his home and even bragging about having a new gun by positing a video of himself with a Glock 9mm pistol. Another search warrant was served at his home on Sept. 24, 2020, and the Glock was seized along with 105 grams of heroin, according to the report.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens man linked to heroin operation goes to federal prison
