United States Drug Enforcement Administration

VALDOSTA, Ga. – A Doerun, Georgia, resident found guilty of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine in two southwest Georgia communities was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison today for his crimes, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.

Samuel Matthew “Cruz” Howard, 27, of Doerun, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 168 months in a federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Louis Sands after Howard was found guilty of two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute following a bench trial before Judge Sands on August 6, 2020. There is no parole in the federal system.

“This ‘meth’ trafficker, who happens to be a repeat offender, was ultimately sentenced because of DEA and its law enforcement partner’s commitment to remove dangerous drugs from our streets to protect our communities,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, Robert J. Murphy. “Mr. Cruz will now spend well-deserved time in prison, and his apprehension makes the southwest Georgia community a safer place today.”

“The defendant brazenly continued pushing large quantities of methamphetamine into southwest Georgia communities, even following his first arrest. Howard’s repeat criminal actions have resulted in a lengthy federal prison sentence,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leary. “I want to commend the Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division and the DEA for their excellent investigative work in this case and helping bring this repeat offender to justice.”

“As drug dealers prey on communities, they often ignore county or state lines. It’s great to have the cooperation of all state and federal agencies to aid in the arrest and prosecution of these drug traffickers. Hopefully, Mr. Howard’s arrest and incarceration will be a deterrent to current and/or future drug traffickers,” said Lieutenant Commander Louis Schofill, Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division.

According to the facts presented by the Government, the defendant was taken into custody on two separate occasions for attempting to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in communities in southwest Georgia. The first incident occurred on October 11, 2016. A Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division agent received information from a confidential source (CS) who stated that a male known as “Cruz” would be delivering a large quantity of methamphetamine to someone at a residence on North Church Street in Meigs, Georgia, within the hour. Agents, conducting surveillance, observed the defendant drive up to the residence in a blue Buick, and they approached Howard. During a legal search of Howard’s vehicle, agents found three plastic sandwich bags containing 85.2 grams of 99% pure “ice” methamphetamine inside the center console armrest, a gray zip pouch containing numerous empty plastic sandwich bags, a digital scale and $1,819 under the armrest. A search warrant of Howard’s cell phone revealed numerous text messages to and from Howard discussing drug transactions and prices right up to the hour of his arrest.

The second incident occurred on April 26, 2018, when Howard was arrested in possession of approximately 222.3 grams of methamphetamine. This time, a CS contacted Howard via text message to arrange the purchase of methamphetamine from Howard at a McDonald’s in Adel, Georgia. Howard was taken into custody at the McDonald’s in possession of a box with “Gucci” written on it, containing 222.3 grams of methamphetamine, found inside his blue Buick. The defendant has a criminal history and was previously convicted of Theft by Taking in Colquitt County Superior Court.

The case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah McEwen prosecuted the case for the Government.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, www.campusdrugprevention.org and www.dea.gov. Also follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv.

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