A Farmville resident, Tyrone Lamont Fowlkes, 42, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for federal drug and firearms offenses. According to court documents, law enforcement encountered Fowlkes on February 7, 2024, while he was sitting in an idling pickup truck in a Nottoway County parking lot. When approached by a deputy, Fowlkes fled at high speed and crashed into a tree, resulting in serious injuries.
Authorities recovered three firearms—including one that had been reported stolen—three digital scales, $948.84 in cash, 198 grams of cocaine, four methamphetamine pills, 60 Oxycodone pills, and 455 grams of marijuana from the vehicle.
On August 9, 2024, while several arrest warrants from the earlier incident were still outstanding, law enforcement observed Fowlkes driving an SUV in Nottoway County. During a traffic stop, a police K9 alerted officers to narcotics inside the vehicle. Officers found three more firearms, a large-capacity magazine, two digital scales, $1,260 in cash, 117 grams of cocaine, 20 grams of methamphetamine, 24 Oxycodone pills, and 321 grams of marijuana.
Fowlkes has prior convictions for distributing cocaine in both 2008 and 2011. In addition, he was convicted in 2021 for possessing with intent to distribute marijuana related to a 2019 incident involving firearm possession. As a convicted felon, Fowlkes is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr., announced the sentencing. The investigation received assistance from the Nottoway County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. McGorman prosecuted the case.
"This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."
Additional information about this case can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia or through court records available via PACER by searching Case No. 3:25-cr-25.
