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Jackson, Miss. – Ance Payton, 42, of Jackson, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Tom S. Lee to 79 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing several illegal drugs with the intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
In 2017, the Jackson Police Department received several complaints from Crime Stoppers and concerned citizens about a home on Plantation Boulevard in Jackson. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the home and found hundreds of grams of marijuana, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and hydrocodone pills. They also found a digital scale and other evidence of drug-distribution activities. Payton was indicted on May 15, 2018, and pled guilty on July 19, 2018.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for “Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together.” PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the work of the Jackson Police Department and their cooperation with ATF agents and Project EJECT task force members in the investigation of this case.