Two men sentenced to prison for distributing fentanyl, heroin on the Mississippi Coast
Two South Mississippi men have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to fentanyl and heroin distribution charges.
Willie Ray Washington III, 46, of Pascagoula has been sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. In a separate case, Eric Andrew Slaydon, 35, of Nicholson in Pearl River County was sentenced to seven years in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin.
Both men faced sentencing in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
Fentanyl distribution investigated
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating Washington in September 2021 for distributing fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine from an automotive shop in Moss Point, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office says. The location had previously been a large-scale meth distributorship broken up by the DEA, the news release said.
After receiving a tip that drugs were once again being distributed from the location, the DEA served a search warrant in June 2022, breaching the door and finding Washington beside a pool table holding a large bag of a white, powdery substance.
The search turned up 786 grams of methamphetamine, 223 grams of heroin, 172 grams of fentanyl, 64 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, 30 grams of cocaine base and other smaller quantities of suspected narcotics. Agents also found ledgers that appeared to detail a history of drug distribution, digital scales and other drug paraphernalia.
Washington pleaded guilty in April to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.
Picayune drug ring investigated
The investigation that involved Slaydon dates to 2015, a news release from the Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office says, with what was described as a “large scale drug trafficking organization” located primarily in Picayune.
In 2019, the news release says, Slaydon and Damon Stafford were identified as participants. In June 2019, a news release says, a confidential source bought methamphetamine and heroin from the two men at Stafford’s residence in Picayune, authorities say.
Both men guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Stafford will be sentenced at a later date. The DEA and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, also prosecuted by Rose.