Man Sentenced to 32 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl in Madison County
Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett, announced today that Michael D. Pendelton, of Pearl, pled guilty to one counts of sale of fentanyl one count of conspiracy to sell fentanyl. He was sentenced to serve 32 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
On December 28, 2022, narcotics investigators with the Madison Police Department began working with a confidential informant who stated she could buy oxycodone pills from Pendelton. The CI was given $700 in official law enforcement funds and, using CashApp, sent Pendelton those funds in exchange for him bringing her the pills. He sent his girlfriend into the city of Madison to meet the CI and the pills were exchanged.
The Mississippi Crime Lab tested the pills purchased by the confidential informant and confirmed it was fifty fentanyl pills. Oxycodone is one of the most common prescription narcotics to be purchased from illegal sources. Many times these pills are actually counterfeit pills containing fentanyl even though they look identical to legitimate oxycodone pills. Just one dose of fentanyl can be fatal.
District Attorney Bramlett stated, “Fentanyl is killing people every single day. The vast majority of the people overdosing are teenagers or in their twenties. Law enforcement has prioritized tracking down fentanyl dealers. My office is sending anyone caught with fentanyl to prison. Please use this as a reminder to talk to your kids, especially your teenagers, about the dangers of buying pills off the streets and the high overdose risk of fentanyl. The only two outcomes if you are using or selling fenantyl is prison or an overdose. I would like to personally thank and recognize the Madison Police Department for their tireless efforts to identify and catch those dealing fentanyl in Madison. Because of them, countless lives have been saved.”
Defendant:
Name: Mitchell D. Pendelton
Date of Birth: 06/08/1981
###
