Picayune man sentenced to 50 years for trafficking methamphetamine

Press Release - OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FIFTEENTH CIRCUIT COURT DISTRICT

District Attorney Hal Kittrell announces that, on September 30, 2024, in Pearl River County Circuit Court, Judge Prentiss Harrell sentenced Dakota Anthony Smith of Picayune to 50 years in prison for trafficking in methamphetamine intended to be smuggled into Mississippi prisons.

In September, 2020, investigators with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) developed intelligence that members of a criminal street gang, the Simon City Royals, had sophisticated plans to introduce narcotics into Mississippi prisons, including the illicit use of drones to make deliveries. One gang member thought to be involved was Dakota Anthony Smith, 34, of Picayune. Smith is one of the acknowledged gang members featured in “Mississippi Gang Land,” Season 6, Episode 4 of “This is Life with Lisa Ling,” that originally aired on CNN on October 19, 2019.

The MDOC investigators sought the assistance of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN) to interdict the narcotics. An undercover MBN agent posing as a drug courier for the Simon City Royals intending to deliver narcotics to gang members inside Mississippi prisons, arranged to obtain the drugs from Dakota Smith. Working in conjunction with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office, the Picayune Police Department, MDOC, and other state and federal law enforcement officers, the undercover agent arranged to meet Smith in the city of Picayune where, observed by several nearby officers, the agent purchased over 47 grams of methamphetamine from Dakota Smith for $1,200. The agent made another purchase from Smith the following day, this time for more than 82 grams of methamphetamine, paying $3,300.

Smith served time in a Louisiana prison on unrelated matters, being returned to Pearl River County, Mississippi in December 2023, where he was arraigned and his trial set for October 1st. Smith pled guilty the day before he was scheduled to go to trial. In sentencing Smith, Judge Harrell took into account his criminal history in two states, and the nature of these cases involving plans to introduce narcotics into the prison system.

Kittrell added, “the sentence in this case reflects the seriousness of the charges, and sends an appropriate message to criminal street gang members and others in prison and in our communities involved in narcotics trafficking.”

Kittrell commended the MDOC criminal investigators for developing the criminal intelligence and leveraging the resources of MBN, whose agents put together a very strong case for prosecution. The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office and the Picayune Police Department also assisted, providing increased security for the operation, which was handled in a very responsible and professional manner. The case was prosecuted by Beau Stewart.