Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Beaumont man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

Avery L. Mims, 36, pleaded guilty on August 2, 2021, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

According to information presented in court, on March 19, 2020, during a search of a vehicle Mims was driving, law enforcement officers located 14 grams of methamphetamine, 7 grams of cocaine, Xanax tablets, marijuana, and ecstasy tablets.  Officers also discovered items indicative of drug trafficking, such as digital scales and approximately $1000 in various small denominations.  Officers also located a firearm in close proximity to the drugs.  After the March 19, 2020, encounter, a federal indictment and arrest warrant was issued for Mims.  When the arrest warrant was executed, Mims was found in possession of a backpack containing approximately 60 grams of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, various tablets, and a firearm.

Mims was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 3, 2021 and charged with federal drug trafficking and firearms violations.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell James.