Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Nashville Man Indicted in Drug Distribution Conspiracy
Convicted Felon Charged With Conspiring to Distribute Substantial Amount of Fentanyl
NASHVILLE, Tenn., - November 9, 2017 – Walter Jones, 46, of Nashville, Tenn., was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for his role in a drug distribution conspiracy, which included the possession and intent to distribute cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran of the Middle District of Tennessee. The indictment also charged Jones with being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“The quantity of fentanyl seized, 40 grams or more, as alleged in the indictment, is significant enough to have posed a grave danger to the community,” said U.S. Attorney Cochran. “In the midst of our nation’s opioid epidemic, had law enforcement not seized these illicit drugs, we could have been dealing with numerous overdoses and deaths. I commend the Metro Nashville Police Department and our federal law enforcement partners for their outstanding work in this investigation and preventing these drugs from making it to the streets of middle Tennessee.”
According to the indictment, and documents filed with the court, on February 21, 2017, Metropolitan Nashville police detectives from the East Precinct Crime Suppression Unit were conducting a drug investigation and stopped the car Jones was driving. As the detectives approached the car they smelled an odor of marijuana and observed the juvenile passenger attempting to conceal a pistol in his waistband. Based on evidence recovered from the car, detectives obtained a search warrant for a storage unit located in Antioch, Tenn.
During the search of the storage unit, detectives recovered drug processing materials, two loaded handguns and additional ammunition, approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine and three kilograms of heroin, among other items.
If convicted, Jones faces mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years, up to life in prison.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the DEA and the ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Klopf is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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