A former Newton County Sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty Friday to being armed while selling pot, court officials said.
Darrell Mathis, 41, was arrested in September after an FBI investigation found that he had allegedly been selling marijuana from his county-issued patrol car and at times in his deputy's uniform, according to court documents.
Mathis faces life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the federal conviction on the charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“The defendant dealt drugs while armed with a gun while he was a deputy sheriff,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “He was sworn to uphold the law and to protect the public from the crimes that he committed himself.”
On Aug. 8, prosecutors said Mathis sold a pound of marijuana to an undercover FBI agent. At a later date, prosecutors said Mathis and the undercover agent met with another undercover FBI agent working to talk about more sales.
Mathis took his Newton County badge and firearm to the meeting, telling the first agent he was arming himself “just in case,” according to the federal indictment.
He was arrested on Sept. 19 at the meeting and later fired, authorities said.
Prosecutors originally charged Mathis with distributing marijuana, but in court documents, the Lithonia man only pleaded to the gun possession charge.
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