An Ocean Springs man has pleaded guilty to trafficking more than 6,000 grams of methamphetamine across state lines with the intent to sell the load in Mississippi.
Eric Donte Pittman, 51, is said to have picked up a large package of methamphetamine in California in August of 2023 with an unnamed co-conspirator, planning to return to Jackson County with the illegal narcotics. Upon their return to Mississippi, their plans were foiled in a traffic stop by a Rankin County Sheriff’s deputy.
A search was initiated after the officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana in the car. In the search, a black garbage bag containing 6,208 grams of methamphetamine with 98 percent purity was confiscated. Two small bags of marijuana were also recovered in the search.
Pittman is scheduled to be sentenced on December 4, 2024, and faces up to 20 years behind bars for the crime.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team, Rankin and Jackson County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones is prosecuting the case.
