A Soddy-Daisy man has been sentenced to serve five years in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
James Crawley appeared before Judge R. Allan Edgar.
Attorney Hallie McFadden and prosecutor Steve Neff said it was agreed that Crawley would forfeit his Ford F150 truck.
Authorities said last Dec. 3, Soddy-Daisy Police detective Charlie Kilgore received a call from a detective in San Antonio, Tex., who said he had intercepted a package containing 10-15 pounds of marijuana addressed to 181 Depot St. in Soddy-Daisy. It was found that multiple similar packages had been sent to the same address.
Detective Kilgore executed a search warrant and found three elderly people living at the address. They said Crawley regularly received packages there, though he did not live there.
Officers then went to Crawley's home and found three firearms, a small amount of marijuana and a drug ledger recording $6,000 worth of transactions.
The detective said Crawley admitted he had received at least 20 shipments of 10-15 pounds of marijuana. He said he had initially made a trip to buy 50 pounds of marijuana.
In another case, Judge Edgar sentenced Robert Miller of Bradley County to serve 63 months in federal prison for attempted manufacture of meth.
Attorney Dan Ripper had argued the sentence should be much less, saying Miller had used the "shake and bake" method of making meth, which he said resulted in a mixture of meth and not pure meth. Prosecutor Jay Wood said pure meth could be created by that method of cooking.
Miller said he had lost his union job last September, then became depressed and got back into meth. He said he did not have money to pay for the meth, but agreed to buy meth ingredients in exchange for the drug.
Judge Edgar said, "I think it's pretty clear that Mr. Miller knows how to make meth. This isn't his first trip around."