Winston County man sentenced to over 15 years for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute

GREENVILLE, Miss. - Dennis Vernandale Phillips, 42, was sentenced today to over 15 years in prison for his possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute the controlled substance.

The investigation began when law enforcement purchased over 30 grams of methamphetamine from Phillips using a confidential informant. During a subsequent search of Phillips' residence in Preston, Mississippi, officers located methamphetamine, two firearms, and other narcotics. In total, Phillips' conduct involved over a kilogram of methamphetamine that impacted the Choctaw Indian Reservation in Winston, Kemper, and Neshoba counties.

On October 30, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Phillips to 188 months imprisonment followed by a 48-month term of supervised release for possessing the methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

"Meth indiscriminately kills children, men and women and it ravages our communities, including the Choctaw Indian Reservation," said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. "This prosecution and sentence are the result of outstanding cooperation between our federal law enforcement partners and the tribal police to achieve a straightforward goal - to reduce the supply of illicit drugs while seeing to it that those who poison communities with narcotics are held to account."

Phillips' drug distribution was a threat to the community," said Whitney Woodruff, Regional Agent in Charge of the Southeast Region for the Division of Drug Enforcement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "He was poisoning Indian Country for his personal gain and now he will pay the price. I am proud of our partnerships with the other law enforcement agencies involved."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case in partnership with the Choctaw Police Criminal Investigations Division, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Howell Addison prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.