An FBI agent said authorities had difficulty catching a crafty cocaine dealer, who bragged that he had a criminal justice degree.
Agt. Richard Poff said Stephen Charles Cook "was very careful who he supplied drugs to. He boasted of having a criminal justice degree. He said he knew his way around the courtroom."
The agent said the Tullahoma drug kingpin was finally caught after local authorities asked the FBI to get involved.
Cook, a Brainerd High School graduate, was sentenced to 24 years and six months in federal prison by Judge Curtis Collier. His sentencing range was 270-322 months - counting an additional five years for possession of a weapon.
The agent said authorities made a series of cocaine buys from a Cook associate, Calvin Ward. Eventually, Ward began working with the FBI as an informant.
A search of the Cook residence turned up cocaine as well as a semi-automatic pistol that was under cushions of a couch in the den - just where the informant said it would be.
Ward told authorities that Cook was his primary source of cocaine.
Attorney Bryan Hoss said Cook was a second-lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1997.
His criminal justice degree was from Middle Tennessee State University.