VALDOSTA, Ga. – A Thomas County, Georgia, dog found a bag containing a large quantity of methamphetamine, sparking a chain of events resulting in a Meigs, Georgia, resident pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamine, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
Timothy Bernard Reese, 44, of Meigs, pleaded guilty to one count possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine before U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson on Thursday, April 22. Reese faces a maximum twenty years of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. A sentencing date has not been scheduled. There is no parole in the federal system.
“It’s not every day that a family pet helps nab a drug trafficker. I want to commend the concerned Thomas County citizen and his devoted dog for helping to bring this methamphetamine dealer to justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice unit continues to do an outstanding job protecting the citizens of their community and curbing the flow of deadly narcotics into south Georgia.”
“We are all in this fight against drugs together. We welcome help from anybody including family pets,” said Lieutenant Commander Louis Schofill, Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division.
According to facts admitted by Reese in open court, a resident of Ochlocknee (Thomas County), Georgia, called authorities on December 13, 2019, regarding a suspicious brown satchel found by his dog. The dog’s owner reported that his dog had come home that day carrying the bag. When the owner opened the bag to check for identification, he found what appeared to be large quantities of illegal narcotics and immediately called the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office. The contents tested positive for 154.78 grams of methamphetamine. Lottery tickets were also found inside of the bag.
Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics/Vice agents were able to pinpoint the exact location and time that the lottery tickets had been purchased. Pulling surveillance video from the Susie Q’s Foods in Meigs, officers observed Reese purchasing the lottery tickets; on December 16, 2019, the police obtained an arrest warrant for Reese. The next day, a woman filed a report with the Cairo Police Department alleging that on December 13, 2019, Reese came into her room at the Grady Lodge and punched her in the face, fracturing her eye socket, and demanded to know where his methamphetamine was located. Reese was taken into custody on December 19, 2019, and he subsequently admitted that the brown bag belonged to him, and he planned to distribute the methamphetamine.
Reese has prior felony convictions for burglary and possession of firearm by a convicted felon, both in the Superior Court of Tift County.
The case was investigated by the Thomas County-Thomasville Narcotics & Vice Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonja Profit is prosecuting the case.
