Warner Robins man pleads guilty to drug charges, faces up to 40 years in prison

Hannah Jones
·3 min read

The leader of a Warner Robins-based methamphetamine trafficking organization pleaded guilty to charges along with eight co-defendants following an investigation by multiple law enforcement organizations.

Ontarrio Veal, 32, of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in federal court Tuesday.

Veal’s sentencing is scheduled for March when he could face a maximum of 40 years in prison followed by at least four years of supervised release and a fine of $5 million.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Georgia, Veal admitted responsibility for distributing about 16 kilograms of meth.

The charges came after the Drug Enforcement Administration and Warner Robins Police Department investigated Veal’s drug trafficking operation from Jan. to June 2020.

Agents intercepted phone calls and text messages between Veal and co-defendants and reportedly surveilled them conducting methamphetamine transactions.

Using a confidential source, DEA agents conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from Veal on Dec. 14, 2020, according to authorities.

On June 1, agents took Veal into custody and executed search warrants at various Middle Georgia locations, seizing firearms, ammunition, methamphetamine and over $100,000 in cash.

“The Warner Robins Police Department is honored to have worked in conjunction with our federal partners through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces which resulted in the outcome of this case,” Interim Chief Wayne Fisher said in the statement. “It is through such local, state and federal partnerships that impacts such as these can be realized. It was with great work and effort from the men and women of this task force which resulted in these arrests that will have an immeasurable impact for the good of our shared communities.”

Eight co-defendants have also pleaded guilty and been sentenced or face sentencing in connection to the methamphetamine trafficking network:

  • Donna Ussery, 31, of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in April. Last month, Ussery was sentenced to serve 100 months in prison.

  • 38-year-old Marquell Gaines of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced to 48 months in prison in October.

  • Warner Robins resident Reginald Lowe, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine last April. He will face sentencing in January.

  • Matthew Kay, 35, of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in September. He will face sentencing on Dec. 6.

  • Warner Robins resident Tamara Hall, 39, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in April. Hall will be sentenced in January.

  • 40-year-old Milton Simmons of Macon pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine last August. He will also be sentenced in January.

  • In August, Parsa Ervin, 45, of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to two counts of use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ervin’s sentencing is scheduled in January.

  • Eddie Linkhorn, 42, of Warner Robins pleaded guilty to two counts of use of a communication facility to conspire to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Linkhorn will face sentencing in January.

“This investigation deals a fatal blow to a once-thriving ‘meth’ ring,” said Robert J. Murphy, the special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “With the leader facing up to 40 years behind bars, the community of Warner Robins and elsewhere can rest assured that their communities are much safer today thanks to the outstanding case work by DEA and our local law enforcement partners.”