Armed Career Criminal Sentenced

Armed Career Criminal Sentenced

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys on June 4, 2014. It is reproduced in full below.

ATLANTA - Demetrius Pullins, who has been convicted multiple times for illegal possession of both firearms and drugs, has been sentenced to 21 years and ten months.

“Pullins’ armed drug dealing had plagued the community for many years," said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Despite three prior felony convictions for drug trafficking spanning two decades, he was unrepentant. This sentence ends Pullins’ ability to sell drugs in our community."

“This sentence is a direct message to career criminals that law enforcement is observant and will not allow egregious violations of our laws to go unpunished," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer. “ATF and our law enforcement partners will remain on the frontline to reduce violent crime by targeting career criminals such as Pullins to ensure such violators are prosecuted and removed from our streets."

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: After receiving a tip about a drug stash house located at 2020 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway (formerly Bankhead Highway), the Atlanta Police Department (APD) investigated the matter, observed a heavy volume of traffic coming to and from the residence and observed a car registered to Demetrius Pullins parked at the residence. After APD made undercover buys of ‘crack’ cocaine from this residence, a State Court Judge issued a warrant to search the residence. On Dec. 14, 2012, APD executed the search warrant just as Pullins left the house. During the search, the police seized: two firearms, a scale, 931 grams of ‘crack’ cocaine in 485 bags, and $5,340 in United States currency. The ‘crack’ cocaine seized from Pullins had an estimated street value of $95,000. During his guilty plea Pullins claimed ownership of all of these items.

Pullins previous convictions were:

• May 19, 1994, he was sentenced to five years’ probation for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, arising from at Nov. 27, 1993 arrest.

• May 19, 1994, he was sentenced to five years’ probation for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, arising from a January 5, 1994 arrest.

• Aug. 28, 1996, he was sentenced to three years and ten months imprisonment and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

• Aug. 28, 1996, after he was released from federal prison, he was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release because he frequented a place where illegal drugs were sold.

• Feb. 23, 2009 he was sentenced to a ten year suspended sentence for trafficking in cocaine.

Demetrius Pullins, a/k/a “Foosie," 40, of Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced by United States District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. to 21 years and ten months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit the $5,340 in drug proceeds seized from him. Pullins pleaded guilty on Feb. 27, 2014, of possessing ‘crack’ cocaine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of firearms, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Atlanta Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Plummer prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys

More News