District Attorney warns of fentanyl
In a courtroom packed with law enforcement, the family of a fentanyl victim and the media, District Attorney Bubba Bramlett presented a pink packet of Sweet and Low, emptied it into his hand and showed those gathered the small pile of sweetener in his hand.
He said that it was about one gram of powder and that the same amount of fentanyl could kill 500 people.
“Fentanyl is a serious issue in our communities, and we are doing everything to educate the public so we can stop these criminals from killing our children,” Bramlett said.
Bramlett held the press conference at the Madison County Circuit Courthouse following the sentencings of Carlos Dominique Allen, 32, and Lucas Montel “Bam” Howard, 42, at 9 a.m. that morning in the courthouse. Both men were convicted by a jury of drug-related charges.
"Both of these habitual drug offenders were taken off the streets through diligent work by Madison County law enforcement," stated Bramlett. "Rankin and Madison law enforcement should be commended for their tireless efforts in removing drugs and these counterfeit pain pills that are causing significant overdose deaths throughout Mississippi."
Allen was sentenced to 124 years in prison years by Judge Dewey Arthur.
A jury convicted Carlos Dominique Allen of Jackson of sale of fentanyl, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of hydrocodone, and possession of amphetamine in February 2021.
During an investigation, Madison Police were able to link fentanyl sold by Allen to the death of 24-year-old Austin Elliott of Madison last year.
During sentencing, Arthur said that he saw “no real acceptance of responsibility” and that Allen knew people could die from the counterfeit pills he was selling.
Arthur went on to say that he has “rarely seen somebody so heavily involved” in the drug trade in his courtroom. He said that he hoped the sentencing sent a message that you “can't sell death in Madison County.”
These counterfeit pills look identical to medications like hydrocodone, oxycodone, or Xanax but are often laced with fentanyl, Bramlett said.
“Fentanyl is an opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine,” Bramlett said. “So upon consumption, unsuspecting victims are immediately at risk of overdose and death.”
Before the sentencing, Allen described Elliott as a friend of his.
“My prayers are with (The Elliot family) whatever things might look like,” Allen said.
A few minutes earlier Judge Brad Mills handed Howard concurrent sentences of 60 and 20 years in prison. Howard was found guilty in February of this year by a Madison County jury of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute while in jail.