Jackson man sentenced to 15 years for gun, cocaine

A Jackson man arrested in Madison in 2022 with cocaine and a stolen handgun was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Madison County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced.

The man, Damarius Rashon Graham, 32, of Jackson, will spend “every day of the next 15 years of his life in prison” for the crimes of trafficking in controlled substances and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Madison County, Bramlett said.

“This individual had been twice convicted of felony crimes and yet he did not learn his lesson those first two times,” Bramlett said. 

On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Graham pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Bramlett said. He was sentenced to 25 years with 10 suspended for the drug charge and 10 years for the possession of a firearm by a felon charge. 

“The court ordered that the sentences were to be served concurrently with another,” Bramlett said. “The time will be served day for day without the possibility of early release or parole.”

On Sept. 30, 2022, an officer with the Madison Police Department made a traffic stop on a vehicle driving northbound on I-55. 

While explaining the traffic violation to the female driver, the officer smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Officers also noticed that Graham, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was sitting on top of a firearm.

Officers asked both individuals to exit the vehicle. Once out of the vehicle Graham stated he was cold, and requested the officer retrieve his jacket from the front passenger seat. 

The officer patted down the jacket before handing it to Graham. Inside the jacket, officers located a bag containing marijuana.

Upon further inspection of the car, officers found a purple Crown Royal bag in the backseat that contained a large amount of what appeared to be cocaine.

Officers took custody of the firearm and discovered that it had been reported stolen in Starkville. 

“He was sitting on top of a stolen firearm while knowing it was against the law for him to be in possession of one,” Bramlett said. “He was also knowingly transporting over two hundred grams of cocaine which we can only infer he intended to sell.” 

They also later learned that Graham had been twice convicted of felony offenses. The suspected drugs were sent to the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and, after a forensic evaluation and testing, the substance was confirmed to be cocaine and weighed over 200 grams, leading to the indictment for aggravated trafficking in controlled substances.