JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI – Gregory Wayne Haygood a/k/a “Big”, 48, of Jackson, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Acting Special Agent in Charge Gilbert Trill of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
On February 8, 2017, Haygood was charged in a multi-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and maintaining a place for distributing or using controlled substances. Haygood conspired to distribute cocaine by receiving the cocaine and selling it to others in Jackson and in Biloxi, Mississippi. Haygood remained at large until he was arrested in September 2019.
Haygood is scheduled for sentencing on March 4, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and up to a $5,000,000 fine.
This OCDETF operation is the result of an extensive investigation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in central Mississippi involving the distribution of cocaine and marijuana. The distribution network encompassed the states of California, Texas and Mississippi.
The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The case was a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Jackson Police Department, and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Chalk.