The Brief
- An Atlanta man received 15 years in federal prison for selling fentanyl while carrying a fully automatic machine gun.
- Authorities caught the convicted felon with hundreds of fentanyl pills and a converted handgun after he tackled an investigator.
- Ballistics testing later linked the converted automatic firearm to an earlier drive-by shooting in East Point.
ATLANTA – Federal officials sentenced a 28-year-old repeat offender to 15 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl while carrying an illegal machinegun in Atlanta.
Federal court hands down sentence
What we know:
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ordered Reginald Pierce to serve 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Pierce pleaded guilty on March 17 to charges of possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute, illegal machine gun possession, and being a felon with a firearm.
A Fulton County Sheriff’s Office investigator pulled over a car carrying Pierce as a passenger on May 30, 2023. Pierce tried to run away and tackled the officer before investigators subdued him. …