On August 7, 2023, Freddie Strickland, 47, of Villa Rica, was sentenced by Carroll County Superior Court Judge John Simpson to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole followed by 60 years on probation without the possibility for parole. Underlying that sentence were 12 cases, 11 of which derived from an extensive Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) investigation, and 1 of which resulted from the Carrollton Police Department arresting Strickland with a trafficking amount of Methamphetamine after he was released on bond in the GBI case. In total, all of these cases included 13 counts of Conspiracy to Violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, 13 counts of Illegal Use of a Communications Facility, 5 counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, 2 counts of Trafficking Methamphetamine, and 1 count of Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Distribute. The sentence was given after Strickland pled guilty to all of the charges rather than proceed to trial.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Nathan Stewart and GBI Agent Damon Morris.
From July 2020 through October 2020, GBI’s West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office (WMRDEO) investigated Strickland for distributing Methamphetamine throughout west Georgia. The WMRDEO is comprised of GBI agents and investigators from law enforcement agencies in the west Georgia area.
WMRDEO has the ability to investigate drug trafficking across multiple counties and bring together the resources of multiple local law enforcement agencies and the GBI. The members of WMRDEO and other law enforcement agencies spent hundreds of hours investigating Freddie Strickland and his associates.
Due to their efforts, Strickland was arrested on September 10, 2020. In addition to his arrest, this investigation netted over 20 co-conspirators, approximately 40 kilograms of Methamphetamine, multiple firearms, large amounts of cash, and multiple vehicles, which the investigation proved Strickland used to transport Methamphetamine. While Strickland was out on bond from his September 2020 arrest, members of the Carrollton Police Department ACE Unit executed a search warrant at Strickland’s residence on September 21, 2022 and found him in a workshop on the property in the presence of approximately 2 kilograms of Methamphetamine and packaging materials.
During Strickland’s guilty plea, Agent Morris testified that Strickland was the leader of the largest Methamphetamine distribution network that has ever been brought to justice in Carroll County. Two members of the Carroll County community, including a leader of the Carroll Count Drug Court, also testified during the plea about the devastating effect of Methamphetamine addiction in the community. The District Attorney shares their sentiment and believes major drug traffickers with substantial criminal histories, like Freddie Strickland, deserve substantial prison time without the possibility of parole, because they have chosen to seek to profit at the expense of members of our community who suffer from drug addiction.
