North Georgia man gets life for meth conviction

A Bartow County man was sentenced Thursday to life in federal prison for conspiring to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine, officials said.

James Hedelsky, 59, was convicted in September, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The life sentence was based on Hedelsky’s previous convictions for drugs, manslaughter, assault and having a firearm while committing a crime, officials said. Also, a factor in his sentence was that he had a firearm during the methamphetamine distribution offenses.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration was involved in the investigation.

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