Leland man sentenced for meth distribution

Nov. 3, 2024 –  Juan Payne, 40, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for his distribution of methamphetamine in Washington County, Mississippi.

Payne was sentenced following a guilty plea to an indictment which charged him for the sale of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in Leland, Mississippi in 2022. Payne made multiple sales of half pound quantities of methamphetamine for which he was prosecuted. The first of these sales occurred just 71 days following his release from a state prison sentence.  

On Oct. 30, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Payne to 180 months imprisonment followed by a 60-month term of supervised release for the distribution offense. Payne was sentenced as a career offender based on his criminal history.

“The distribution of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs has had a devastating impact on the Mississippi Delta region.” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “This prosecution and sentence should send a message that those who distribute poison into the community will be held to account and punished accordingly, especially if they have chosen to live a life of crime.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotic and the Drug Enforcement Agency investigated this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Herzog Jr. prosecuted the case.