GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A Gulfport man arrested as part of a conspiracy to buy and sell China White heroin out of a local daiquiri bar has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge in the case.
The Sun Herald reports (https://bit.ly/1SME8AE ) that Randall Sheffield, 33, will be sentenced Oct. 22.
He is facing a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and up to $250,000 in fines for the federal charge of unlawful transport of firearms.
Sheffield and bar owners Carlos Miller, 34, and Julie Michelle Glass, 31, were indicted on various charges in the case. Glass is serving seven years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. Miller is awaiting trial, set for Aug. 3.
Authorities arrested all three in January on federal charges of selling cocaine and the high-grade China White heroin out of the lounge. When they were picked up in a traffic stop, authorities seized 9 mm pistol and .357 revolver. At the bar, authorities found a mask and an Uzi firearm on a counter.
Court records say Miller and Glass started trying in November to set up a deal to buy 3 kilos of cocaine. Miller later met with a confidential informant and told him he sold heroin out of the bar and worked with members of a New Orleans drug-trafficking organization. In a subsequent meeting, records say, Glass and Miller attempted to buy a kilo each of cocaine and heroin.
A federal grand jury indicted Glass and Sheffield on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit a violent crime and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking scheme, and two counts each of attempted possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute.
The grand jury indicted Sheffield on the additional charge of unlawful transport of a firearm, and Miller on one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and two counts of attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
After Glass and Sheffield pleaded guilty, the remaining charges against them were dismissed.
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Information from: The Sun Herald, https://www.sunherald.com
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