Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years for Drug Trafficking
Memphis, TN – Craig Parham, 41, has been sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for drug trafficking. Joseph C. Murphy Jr., United States Attorney announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, from September 2017 through March of 2020, Craig Parham and his co-conspirators formed a group named the Smokey City Bullies or SCB. This group distributed illegal narcotics in the North Memphis (Smokey City) area of Memphis, TN. Most of these individuals displayed their affiliation to the Smokey City Bullies through their Facebook accounts.
Furthermore, these Facebook accounts depicted these individuals displaying SCB memorabilia, inside of locations where controlled purchases during this investigation have been made, and in front of other locations where state search warrants have been previously executed. They also posted photographs of themselves displaying drugs, guns, and cash.
The SCBs primarily sold illegal narcotics out of two residences in Smokey City. The first residence was a duplex on North Dunlap St., Memphis, TN. The second residence was located on Keel Avenue, Memphis, TN. Members of the Smokey City Bullies worked rotating shifts to sell illegal narcotics to customers at those houses. These residences were around the corner from one another, and their backyards were adjacent.
This long-term investigation involved confidential informants, undercover buys, undercover surveillance, and Facebook search warrants. Craig Parham participated in the following controlled buys: On December 19, 2019, Parham possessed in his waistband a revolver when he sold approximately 54 grams of a cocaine base to an undercover ATF agent. On March 4, 2020, Parham sold approximately 28 grams of a cocaine base and 14 grams of powder cocaine to an undercover ATF agent inside on Dunlap, Memphis, TN.
Craig Parham pled guilty on May 3, 2022. On September 15, 2022, U.S. Senior Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr., sentenced Parham to 15 years imprisonment to be followed by three years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Assistant United States Attorneys P. Neal Oldham and Wendy K. Cornejo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.