A joint federal and local drug trafficking sting operation in 2021 culminated in the sentencing of six men in federal court on Thursday. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Ryan K. Buchanan stated, “Drug trafficking is a societal scourge that poses serious risks to the public health and safety of our communities. The dedication of our federal, state, and local enforcement partners resulted in the disruption of this drug trafficking organization and led to the successful prosecution of these defendants.”

The investigation, which involved Drug Enforcement Administration special agents and Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force officers as well as local police, began in 2021. It determined that Julio Martinez-Guzman was operating a drug distribution ring from two residential locations in Rome. Over time, agents identified Martinez-Guzman’s customers and his narcotics suppliers, including Jesse Willard Brooks, Reginal Eric Dowdy, Jason Lee Carden, Casanova DePaul Pritchett, and Adrian Raymond Robinson.

Martinez-Guzman was arrested at a home on Anderson Road in November 2022 and charged with drug trafficking. The others were subsequently arrested and charged with a variety of crimes involving the sale of large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, oxycodone, and heroin. Another suspect, 26-year-old Abel Santoyo-Santana of Mexico, remains at large.

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Walter Ray sentenced the six men involved. Martinez-Guzman received 20 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release, while the other defendants received sentences ranging from 2.5 years to 8.4 years in prison, also followed by supervised release terms.

The investigation and arrests were the result of a collaborative effort involving multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Rome-Floyd Metro Task Force, Floyd County Police Department, Rome Police Department, Polk County Police Department, Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, and Cedartown Police Department.