A Chattanooga man with no prior criminal record and who was noted as a businessman and member of a church and lodge was sentenced on Friday to serve 65 months in federal prison.
James Johnson appeared before Judge Travis McDonough.
Johnson was allowed to report on May 21 to give him time to attend the graduation of his step-son.
Johnson was indicted in a drug conspiracy along with Tommy Dean, Tyrone Parks, Conell Langram, and Daniel Johnson in a case involving shipments of cocaine from California.
Authorities said packages began arriving sometime prior to November 2016. Each package was shipped via the U.S. Postal Service.
On multiple occasions, Johnson picked up packages of cocaine at Parks' house and arranged for their delivery to a third party. The third party typically would pay Johnson $100,000 or more for the cocaine, and he would surrender the money to Dean, it was stated. Dean would pay Johnson from $5,000 to $10,000 for his part in the deal.
The pre-sentence report for Johnson calculated his advisory sentencing guidelines to be 57-71 months. The parties agreed on the 65-month term.
Attorneys Lloyd Levitt and Leslie Cory said, "Mr. Johnson has an excellent work history. Although he never obtained his GED, he worked for years in the public school system and now runs his own remodeling business.
"Mr. Johnson has been involved in his community and neighborhood, both as an individual and through his lodge and his church. Mr. Johnson has been using marijuana and cocaine since he was a teenager. Although he has been able to live a productive life, work steadily, and relate positively with his family and community, Mr. Johnson’s life is a far cry from what it would have been had he been able to break free of his drug use.
"He would have gone farther and done better with his education, in his work, and in his relationships. He would in all likelihood not be before the Court now, had he been able to free himself from his use of drugs and the accompanying links to the segment of Chattanooga society that accepts and promotes drug use."
Dean was also sentenced on Friday. He got 188 months in federal prison.