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NATCHEZ – A Wilkinson County man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette III to 168 months in federal prison for participation in an interstate drug trafficking operation distributing kilogram quantities of illegal drugs in the Natchez area from 2016 through 2018, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Sammy Davis Wright, 51, of Woodville, was indicted by a federal grand jury and subsequently pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride; conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Wright’s federal prison sentence includes 108 months in prison for his drug crimes, to be followed by a separate 5-year sentence for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Wright’s sentence includes a penalty for being an organizer or leader of criminal activity and a penalty for maintaining premises for the purpose of drug distribution.  Court records reflect that Wright has prior convictions in Wilkinson County Circuit Court in 2001 and 2002 for the sale of controlled substances.

According to court documents, Wright conspired with Kevin Singleton of Natchez, Wesley Bell of Natchez, Jimmie Lee Swearengen Jr. of Mesquite, TX, Gregory Woodard of Crosby, Roy Goodrich of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jerry Lee White Jr. of Gloster, and Denonta Thadison of  McComb.  Singleton, Woodard, Goodrich, White, and Thadison have already been sentenced for their crimes.

Kevin Singleton, as head of the interstate drug trafficking organization, received a 35-year prison sentence from U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette III in September 2021. Woodard, Goodrich, and White received smaller prison sentences in 2020 ranging between 2½ and 3 years for their minimal involvement in the drug trafficking operation. Thadison was sentenced on Nov. 15 to 87 months in prison for cocaine distribution in the Natchez area. Swearengen was separately sentenced today for his participation in drug trafficking operations in the Natchez area. Bell is currently awaiting sentencing.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This OCDETF case is the result of an extensive investigation targeting illegal narcotics distribution by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force in Atlanta, GA, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the Pearl Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla J. Clark prosecuted these cases.