David McNutt was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. He appeared in Judge Sandy Mattice’s courtroom on Monday.
In February and March of 2014, agents intercepted phone calls and texts from McNutt and Michael Barker. On March 14, 2014, Barker sent a text which read, “Hey, man. We got a small problem.”
At the time, McNutt was using pre-paid credit cards, including a Green Dot card, but Green Dot had put a limit on the use. Barker was going to send a friend to Chattanooga to collect money in person.
A text from McNutt to Barker was intercepted which read, “It is an investment in a criminal enterprise. You still get a return. I am hopeful to get back to normal this next trip.”
Agents searched Barker’s hotel room in Chattanooga on March 24, 2014 and found over 65 grams of meth, as well as digital scales and many pre-paid credit cards. Most of the meth was 96 percent pure, though some was 99 percent pure.
Defense attorney Hallie McFadden argued for a sentence below the minimum guidelines on the basis of McNutt’s age. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Bay called the defendant “a complete menace to society” and said this was his sixth felony drug offense.
Judge Mattice said the defendant was classified as a career criminal and that he had “earned that criminal history category” over a number of years. He said 188 months was as lenient as he could be.
McNutt apologized for his “wrongdoing in (the) past.”
“I chose the wrong profession and tried to make money in the wrong way,” he said.