A  Rienzi man was sentenced today to 12 1/2 years in prison for distribution of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, William Leonard, 40, of Rienzi pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Leonard was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson to 151 months for the conspiracy as a career offender.  He was further sentenced to three years of supervised release following his release from prison.

Leonard was involved in a drug trafficking organization responsible for transporting large quantities of methamphetamine from Texas and distributing it throughout the Northern District of Mississippi. Leonard participated in the conspiracy by making multiple purchases of methamphetamine from the head of the drug trafficking organization for distribution throughout North Mississippi.

The investigation of this drug trafficking organization and its participants spanned more than one year. Leonard was indicted along with 16 other individuals.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics investigated the case as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program in partnership with state and local law enforcement. Agencies assisting with the investigation included the United States Marshal’s Service, the United States Postal Inspector’s Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Hampton and Feleica L. Wilson prosecuted the case.