MACON, Ga. — A Macon man pleaded guilty to selling fentanyl before a U.S. federal judge on Tuesday, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
They say Gary Hollingshed, 30, faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and a $1,000,000 fine. The judge is set to learn his sentence in a hearing scheduled for Jan. 8, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Fentanyl is a killer, and fentanyl dealers in Middle Georgia will face federal prosecution and stiff penalties,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. “Working with our law enforcement and community partners, we will continue our combined efforts to prevent fentanyl distribution and hold fentanyl traffickers accountable.”
The release says agents began investigating Hollingshed’s drug sales, and purchased methamphetamine from him in the parking lot of a Macon hotel in February 2022.
Records show that at a later sale, Hollingshed offered to sell heroin to an undercover agent. The ‘heroin’ was actually a mixture containing primarily fentanyl.
Hollingshed was arrested in Monroe County in March 2022, according to the release. It says deputies stopped him for a malfunctioning taillight with three young children in the car. Deputies also found methamphetamine and fentanyl in the same car.
The release says deputies searched Hollingshed’s supplier’s home less than a week later, and found a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and multiple handguns. They also found methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and digital scales.
Hollingshed has prior state convictions for burglary and illegal drug possession and distribution.
“It is good that justice has been served concerning the illegal deeds of Gary Hollingshed,” Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said. “His prosecution was a result of diligence and dedication by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and our federal partners. This conviction will assure that citizens are safer from the deadly distribution of fentanyl.”