A Sheriff’s Deputy in Newton County, Georgia was arrested September 19 after he allegedly sold marijuana to an undercover federal agent from his squad car while in full uniform and wearing his gun. That foolish move got Mathis saddled with the charge of “carrying a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking offense” along with being charged for distributing pot.
The feds contend Deputy Darrell Mathis, 40, dealt from his officially marked squad car on a regular basis and that he sold bud to both a confidential informant and an undercover FBI agent between May and September of 2013. Mathis admitted to selling between 10 to 15 pounds of pot every week.
On August 8, Mathis allegedly sold a pound of pot to a narc and then set up a deal in which he agreed to “transport marijuana or cocaine to Alabama or North Carolina” for the undercover agent.
The criminal complaint alleges Mathis went as far as to display his deputy badge and gun at that meeting, telling the undercover agents, “Don’t worry, I’m on your side.” Little did Mathis know that those he was selling to were not on his side.
Mathis’ bust left his department scrambling to save face, as Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown stated the obvious on Friday: “This is an embarrassment to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, as well as law enforcement in general.”
Mathis’ shameless style was responsible for his downfall – he allegedly had large amounts of pot in the open in his Lithonia, Georgia apartment, which was witnessed by a confidential source who informed two local cops who then turned to the FBI in April.
Mathis, who has been a Newton County deputy for five years, appeared before a federal judge on Thursday and was released on bond. He faces five years in federal prison for pot dealing and a maximum sentence of life in prison for carrying his firearm while trafficking.
Cop Busted for Selling Pot from Squad Car