Drug Raids in Covington and Forrest Counties Yield Four Arrests and $37,000 in Meth

HATTIESBURG, MS—Louis R. Mickell Jr., 48, of Mt. Olive; Segsie Magee, 36, of Mt. Olive; and Walter Daniel Price, 39, of Taylorsville, have been charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and Reginald O. Posey, 36, of Collins, is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney John Dowdy announced today.

The defendants were arrested on Thursday, August 11, and the multi-agency team executed search warrants of their residences where agents seized approximately 373 grams of methamphetamine as well as a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a 2003 Cadillac Escalade. The methamphetamine has an estimated street value of $37,000.

The investigation was conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the DEA, and the Covington County Sheriff’s Department. The arrests and search warrant executions were conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the DEA, the FBI, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Covington County Sheriff’s Department. During the joint investigation, assistance was also provided by the Forrest/Perry County District Attorney’s Office.

All four defendants were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Parker and were detained without bond pending a detention hearing next week. The case has been set for trial on October 17, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett. If convicted, Posey faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison. Mickell, Magee, and Price each face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

“This is another example of how law enforcement at all levels of government are working together in these lean budget times to try to make our streets safer,” said U.S. Attorney Dowdy.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.