A Duluth man was sentenced to federal prison for his role in distributing multiple kilograms of methamphetamine in the metro-Atlanta area.
Jorge Rodriguez-Martinez, 56, was convicted on April 25 on one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Rodriguez-Martinez was sentenced to 10 years in prison on each count by the U.S. District Judge Steve Jones on Aug. 16. The sentence is to be served concurrently with four years of supervision following his release.
The case dated back to an incident on October 7, 2020, where a confidential source working with Drug Enforcement Administration agents made recorded phone calls to Rodriguez-Martinez to purchase several kilograms of methamphetamine. U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan reported Rodriguez-Martinez then traveled to a Dunwoody apartment complex to meet with a drug supplier. He then went to the confidential source’s residence and dropped off the truck containing the methamphetamine, switched cars, and left the scene.
The source called Rodriguez -Martinez again, during which he confirmed the substance was in the truck and agreed to return to the residence to pick up the drugs. Once he left the home for a second time, Georgia State Patrol stopped his vehicle and discovered three kilograms of methamphetamine in the front passenger floorboard.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Atlanta Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol, according to a release from Buchanan.
“Methamphetamine traffickers pose a grave threat to our communities and peddle these dangerous drugs in total disregard of the lives they place at risk,” Buchanan said. “Thanks to the coordinated and tireless efforts of our federal and state partners, Rodriguez-Martinez will now be held accountable for his crimes.”
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta recommended citizens learn more about the dangers of drugs here.
“Our communities remain under attack by drug traffickers with no regard for the harm and destruction they cause,” Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, said. “DEA will continue to bring to justice the drug traffickers who drive addiction and destroy our communities.”
