Lead defendant pleads guilty in Waycross-area fentanyl and heroin trafficking operation
Eric Lashawn Hayes, aka, “Pee Wee”, 28, of Blackshear, Georgia., is awaiting sentencing by a federal judge.
Hayes pleaded guilty to charges relating to a Waycross, Georgia, fentanyl and heroin trafficking operation. He joins five other defendants who admitted their roles in the conspiracy.
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According to the most recent announcement by David H. Estes, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, Hayes now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, up to life.
He is also looking at substantial financial penalties and a minimum of eight years of supervised release after serving any prison term.
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“Opioid addiction and overdose, particularly those involving fentanyl, continue to ravage our country,” said Estes. “Eric Hayes typifies the gun-carrying drug trafficker whose activities fuel the opioid epidemic and the violent crime it inflicts on our communities.”
A total of six defendants were named in February 2021 in USA v. Hayes, et. al, an indictment targeting a drug distribution network in the greater Waycross area.
The investigation began in July 2020 after multiple drug overdoses were traced to heroin and fentanyl. Three overdoses resulted in deaths.
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The Pierce and Ware County sheriff’s offices began the investigation as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration joined on. This led to the identification of Hayes as a supply source for the illegal drugs.
All six defendants have now plead guilty. They include the brother of Eric Hayes, Cyrlus LaShawn Hayes, aka “Dubo,” 45, of Waycross; Crystal Champagne, 34, of Waycross; Preston Connor Luke, 27, of Blackshear; Renalba Jamar Green, aka “Reno”, 35, of Waycross; and Davey Green, aka “Little Dave”, 35, of Waycross.
“Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin – the combination of these deadly substances has claimed many lives,” said Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Atlanta Field Division.
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