News Releases
RECIDIVIST DRUG DEALER GETS LIFE IN FEDERAL CASE
September 01, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
David E. Nahmias, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; Vanessa McLemore, Special Agent In Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Atlanta Field Office; and Richard Pennington, Chief, City of Atlanta Police Department, announce that CORRY THOMPSON, 29, of College Park, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., on charges of possession of crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy with intent to distribute; possession of firearms by a convicted felon; and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. According to Nahmias and the documents and information presented in court:
THOMPSON was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, plus 30 years.
THOMPSON was convicted of the charges following a jury trial on April 25, 2005, during which evidence was presented that THOMPSON had been involved in selling powder cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy pills, and marijuana out of two different locations in Atlanta from on or about October 1, 2002, through October 23, 2003. He also possessed firearms in conjunction with his drug trade. THOMPSON was arrested by ATF and Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force officers immediately following a raid on his drug location at 955 Palmetto Avenue in Atlanta. There, officers and agents found 18 ounces of powder cocaine, 4 ounces of crack cocaine, 8 ounces of marijuana, 934 ecstasy pills, and drug packaging paraphernalia, along with two handguns stashed in the cushions of a couch. The house, which was secured with heavy burglar bars, was also wired with six video surveillance cameras and two surveillance monitors so that those inside the house could see people approaching from any direction. When THOMPSON was arrested a few blocks from the residence, he attempted to flee from police but was apprehended with over $6,500 cash in his pocket.
THOMPSON had previously been convicted for drug trafficking and violent crimes. THOMPSON’s life sentence was a result of his commission of additional drug crimes after those prior convictions, pursuant to federal sentencing laws for recidivists.
United States Attorney David Nahmias said of the case, “This case illustrates the serious consequences that come when an individual chooses a career of dealing drugs and using firearms to protect that lifestyle. Thompson was running a dangerous illegal-drug store in the West End area of Atlanta, but thanks to the efforts of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force police officers and ATF agents, this is one threat to the community that has been eliminated. The exemplary collaboration between these dedicated and professional local and federal law enforcement agents, working as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, continues to make the west Atlanta community a safer place to live.”
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and by members of the Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, which is comprised of officers from the Atlanta Police Department, Georgia Department of Corrections - Probation, and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Assistant United States Attorney Todd C. Alley prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney or F. Gentry Shelnutt, Chief, Criminal Division, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.