A McAlester man was sentenced to federal prison after accepting a plea deal following a 2021 drug bust at a local hotel.
Garrett Jeffrey Freeman, a.k.a. Gee, 27, was indicted in the Eastern District of Oklahoma in February 2022 on counts of distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to Freeman’s plea deal, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss all but the possession with intent to distribute fentanyl indictment for a guilty plea.
“I knowingly and intentionally possessed with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl,” Freeman wrote in a plea agreement. “The fentanyl was located in a motel room that I had been staying in for several days. The fentanyl was packed for distribution.”
U.S. Chief District Judge Ronald A. White accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Freeman to 154 months in federal prison, which equals to a sentence of 12 years and 10 months.
White ordered the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate Freeman to determine if he is a candidate for the intensive drug treatment program and to house Freeman at the same facility as his father, Jeffrey Freeman “to facilitate family contact.”
Freeman is also ordered to undergo three years of supervised release following his sentence.
A probable cause affidavit filed in the case states agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency met at a McAlester hotel to arrest Freeman on a state arrest warrant. Freeman was standing outside a hotel room when agents arrived and ran from agents, the report states.
After Freeman was taken into custody, the man signed a consent to allow a search of the room, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, agents found seven clear plastic bags containing a white crystal-like substance, plastic bags, scales, pills, and two handguns.
“I possessed the loaded firearms to protect myself while selling fentanyl and methamphetamine,” Freeman wrote in his plea agreement.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Chris Wilson said Freeman’s sentence should be a warning to other dealers in eastern Oklahoma.
“The excellent work of DEA agents and task force officers resulted in a drug dealer being arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison,” Wilson said in a press release. “The sentence imposed should send a clear message to the defendant and others tempted to sell illegal drugs that you will be held accountable for the misery your crimes inflict on our communities.”