Pascagoula Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

Gulfport, Miss. – Tharon Jamell Taylor, 27, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Sul Ozerden to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze.

On August 20, 2017, a cooperating source made a controlled delivery of 1,964 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine to Taylor. Prior to the delivery, a recorded phone call was placed by the cooperating source to Taylor, and during the call, Taylor requested that they meet at his apartment in Ocean Springs. Taylor met the cooperating source in the apartment’s parking lot, and agents quickly arrested Taylor when he reached for the bag in which the methamphetamine was located. The cooperating source provided information to law enforcement that he had previously delivered narcotics from Texas to Taylor. Upon arresting Taylor, law enforcement searched his apartment and found money, a scale, methamphetamine, and a stolen handgun.

Taylor will be sentenced on June 26, 2018, by Judge Ozerden, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine.

The case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force in Pascagoula, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk.