BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man was sentenced this week for drug and gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Towanda Thorne-James.
United States District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced LaMarcus Antonio Sills, Sr., 39, to 72 months in prison. Sills pleaded guilty in March to charges that he possessed heroin with the intent to distribute, was a felon in possession of a firearm, and carried a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking crime.
According to the plea agreement, on July 16, 2020, Birmingham Police Officers had established a police checkpoint at the intersection of 29th Avenue North and 29th Street North, when a white Mercedes Benz came to a stop at the checkpoint. The driver, and sole occupant of the vehicle, was Sills. While speaking to Sills, officers detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and Sills admitted to officers that he had smoked marijuana earlier that day just outside the vehicle. During a search, officers discovered a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol in Sills’s waistband. Officers searched the vehicle and found a clear plastic sandwich bag containing marijuana, a plastic bag containing 30.79 grams of heroin, a small digital scale, and more empty sandwich bags.
“Jefferson County is experiencing near all-time highs in both homicides and drug overdose deaths, with drug fatalities increasing 70% over the last two years,” said United States Attorney Prim. F. Escalona. “The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to do all that we can to protect our community from illicit drug trafficking and to prevent firearms from coming into the possession of prohibited people,” added Escalona.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Birmingham Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darius Greene prosecuted the case.