Curtis Bingham
A California man who had been sending large amounts of drugs to Chattanooga hotels with no room number listed has been sentenced to serve 188 months in federal prison.
Curtis James Bingham appeared before Judge Charles Atchley.
Bingham was taken into custody after authorities began investigating suspicious packages coming to Chattanooga from a post office in Bakersfield, Ca., beginning in November 2021. There were at least eight Priority Express Mail parcels shipped from Bakersfield to hotels in Chattanooga.
At least six parcels were sent from Chattanooga to two addresses in Bakersfield.
All shipping fees were paid in cash.
Authorities said one parcel was picked up by Bingham and a phone number used to track the parcels was tracked to him.
On Jan. 20, 2022, suspicious parcels were sent from the Post Office on Shallowford Road to Bakersfield. A K-9 alerted on the parcels.
After a warrant was obtained, agents opened the parcels and found $18,260 in cash going to one Bakersfield address and $39,000 in cash going to another.
Authorities also monitored two phones used by Bingham and found that the phones traveled from Los Angeles to Chattanooga on Feb. 8. It was found that Bingham flew from LA to Chattanooga that day and afterward rented a car in Chattanooga.
He then traveled to the same hotel where the latest parcels were sent - the Sonesta Select on Bams Drive. Bingham and a female were followed until they went to an apartment in Red Bank at 120 Wolfe St.
The next day authorities made a controlled delivery of a package to the Sonesta Select. It was found that Bingham was at the Walmart off Brainerd Road. He then went to a CVS and then to the Sonesta.
An agent took the package to the front desk and the clerk said a guest had been asking about it. Bingham then picked up the package and took it to his room. At 2 p.m., Bingham went from the rental car into the hotel and returned with a white plastic bag that looked to be heavy.
Agents followed his car to Tunnel Boulevard and Wilcox Boulevard. He stopped at a parking spot and a black Dodge Challenger backed in nearby. Bingham pulled beside the Challenger and exited his rental car with the white plastic bag. He got into the Challenger. Three minutes later, he returned to the rental car without the bag.
Bingham then left. A man in the Challenger walked over to a food truck, then he drove to an apartment complex. He was later stopped by police and identified as having a history of drug and weapons arrests. He did not have anything on him at the time.
On Feb. 16, Bingham was found to be at a residence occupied by an individual who had been arrested in April 2021 with counterfeit fentanyl tablets, marijuana, cash and a loaded pistol. It was learned that the counterfeith fentanyl tablets had been shipped from California.
Authorities on March 2 identified three more suspicious inbound packages from Bakersfield, Ca., to a Chattanooga hotel with no room number. It was addressed to Mr. B at the Wingate Hotel on Shallowford Road. The packages were opened and found to contain 10 pounds of meth, seven pounds of counterfeit fentanyl tablets, and five pounds of marijuana.
It was found on March 3 that Curtis Bingham had checked into the hotel. There was a controlled delivery of the packages on March 7 and Bingham was observed picking them up. The hotel manager observed that it was odd that no hotel room number was on the address. Bingham said he was "Mr. B" and said he sent the packages to himself for his business.
Agents then arrested Bingham in room 327 of the Wingate. Bingham said he was from California and had been in Chattanooga a few weeks earlier. He said the boxes in the room were his. Inside the room agents found $9,300 in cash, postal receipts for the packages and Bingham's California driver's license.
In an interview, Bingham said he "was starting over" and "had no people in Tennessee." He said he was trying to make money so he could get out of pills and meth and "just sell weed."