A convicted Cairo, Ga., drug dealer and a Miami, Florida, co-defendant with Thomas and Grady County connections were sentenced Thursday to years behind federal prison bars.
Roger Ross, 50, of Miami, and Odell Cleveland, 47, of Cairo, Ga., were recently sentenced in Albany U.S. District Court by Judge W. Louis Sands.
Ross was sentenced to 360 months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release.
Sands sentenced Cleveland to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Ross and Cleveland were convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine and multiple counts of using a communication facility in furtherance of drug-trafficking activity.
Based on prior convictions, Ross was determined to be a career offender. Convictions include:
• Possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute on Dec. 20, 1984, in Thomas County Superior Court
• Two counts of sale of cocaine on March 30, 1988, in Grady County Superior Court
• Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on May 8, 1998, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division
• Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base on July 21, 1999, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration at Columbus and Miami, Thomasville/Thomas County Narcotics/Vice Division, Cairo Police Department, Pelham Police Department and Georgia State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Charles Calhoun and Beth Howard prosecuted the case.
“We will continue to use our federal resources to clean up our communities and give drug dealers a new address — the federal prison,” said Michael J. Moore, Middle District of Georgia U.S. attorney. “These convictions were the result of the strong collaborative efforts of our local, state and federal agencies. They are to be commended for their good work.”
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