with mug

By Patti Dozier

patti.dozier@gaflnews.com

 

THOMASVILLE — A man who told narcotics agents he served federal prison time on a methamphetamine conviction is charged with possession of close to 28 grams of the ice form of the drug.

James Lamar “Jamie” Futch, 48, 29502 Ga. 3, was in possession of bright-pink ice.

Thomas County/Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division agents learned Futch would be visited by a Florida resident, who would deliver the drug to him.

Agents set up surveillance in a wooded area adjacent to Futch’s property.

“We didn’t know what type of vehicle the Florida man would be driving. The information we had said it would be a rental car,” said Kevin Lee, narcotics/vice commander.

A black Dodge Charger arrived and parked behind Futch’s residence. The suspect was waiting in the yard. The men talked, went inside for a few minutes, returned outside and talked again.

The Charger left, and Futch got into a pickup truck with someone and left.

Lee said agents could not approach Futch as he left the residence, because they were afraid he would throw the drug into a pile of burning leaves or into a nearby pond.

Futch was stopped on Ga. 3.

“He told agents he had a little bit of meth in his pants, which turned out to be a lot of meth,” Lee explained.

The methamphetamine seized weighed just under the amount for a trafficking charge.

“It is a significant amount,” Lee said. The drug would have sold for $100 to $125 per gram.

The bright-pink color is the signature color of the organization that manufactured the contraband.

“We know the identity of the man who brought it to him,” the commander said.

Florida authorities have been contacted, and charges are possible there.

Futch was denied bond and remains behind bars in the Thomas County Jail.

The suspect told agents he served 50 months in federal prison on a meth conviction and was released in 2002.

He is on probation in a Thomas County meth conviction.