Southwest Georgia Resident Sentenced to Prison Resulting from Valdosta Armed Drug Distribution Investigation

ALBANY, Ga. – A Valdosta, Georgia, probationer with a lengthy criminal history who was found guilty by a federal jury on charges related to controlled substance distribution out of a Valdosta, Georgia, apartment complex was sentenced to prison recently.

Barry Kiya Daise, 45, of Valdosta, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release to be served concurrently with any probation revocation sentence in Brooks County Superior Court by Senior U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands on Sept. 21. Daise was convicted by a federal jury of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of maintaining and using a drug involved premises on Oct. 6, 2022. Daise is not eligible for parole.

“Despite prior felony convictions involving guns and drug trafficking, the defendant continued to disregard the law by committing crimes that harm the community,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Defendants with long criminal records will face the possibility of federal prosecution for chronic illegal activity as we continue to partner with law enforcement to identify and hold repeat and violent offenders accountable.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Daise was identified as part of a larger investigation by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division into armed drug trafficking in August 2019. At the time, Daise was on probation for a prior state felony. Following several months of surveillance, a search warrant was executed at Daise’s West Hill Avenue apartment on Nov. 19, 2019. Inside, officers found a loaded firearm stolen from Tifton, Georgia, ammunition, 48 grams of powder cocaine, digital scales and evidence of crack-cocaine production. Daise’s cell phone contained messages about selling controlled substances, meeting at his apartment complex parking lot to conduct the transactions and photos of guns and drugs.

Daise has a lengthy criminal record with prior state felony convictions including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Lowndes County, Georgia, Superior Court and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Brooks County, Georgia, Superior Court. The case was investigated by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Special Operations Division and FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sonja Profit and Robert McCullers prosecuted the case.