MS gang members planned to use drones to deliver drugs to prisons. One is headed to prison
A self-professed Simon City Royals street gang member once featured in a documentary about Mississippi prison gangs is headed to prison for 50 years for trafficking meth set for delivery at Mississippi prisons, according to Pearl River County District Attorney Hal Kittrell.
Dakota Anthony Smith, 34, pleaded guilty to aggravated trafficking on Monday.
Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell imposed the sentence, a release said.
Smith’s arrest followed an undercover narcotics investigation that began in September 2020 into plans by members of the Simon City Royals street gang to facilitate the use of drones to deliver meth into Mississippi prisons.
Smith was among the gang members featured in the documentary “Mississippi Gang Land” on Season 6, Episode 4 of “This is Life with Lisa Ling.” The documentary originally aired in October 2019.
According to federal prosecutors, the Simon City Royals gang is a violent street and prison gang that primarily operates in Mississippi prisons. The gang consists of other street gang members from Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and elsewhere.
Authorities arrested Smith after an undercover agent posing as a gang member twice bought methamphetamines from Smith. Smith sold meth valued at a total of $4,600.
MBN, the Pearl River Sheriff’s Department, and Picayune police worked together on the investigation.
Before his conviction in Mississippi, Smith served time for other Louisiana crimes.
Smith entered the guilty plea in the Mississippi drug case one day before his trial started.
“The sentence in this case reflects the seriousness of the charges and sends an appropriate message to criminal street gang members and others in prison and in our communities involved in narcotics trafficking,” Kittrell said in a release.
The district attorney commended the law enforcement agencies who investigated the case and the Mississippi Department of Corrections, who found out about plans to use drones to get drugs into Mississippi prisons.
Assistant District Attorney Beau Stewart prosecuted the case.
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
