Sand Mountain man sentenced for sending meth shipments through the mail

FORT PAYNE, Alabama (WDEF) – A Sand Mountain man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for sending meth through the mail.

Prosecutors say he did it while he was out of jail on federal supervised release.

Federal investigators, postal inspectors and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office got involved after suspicious packages were being sent to a home in Flat Rock.

One of them contained 10 pounds of meth.

So they made sure they were there when one of the packages arrived at the home of Cindy Land Franklin.

They say that 74 year old Pete Russell from Rainsville sent her more than 350 pounds of meth and marijuana over an 18 month period.

Russell pleaded guilty to federal charges in February and was sentenced this week.

Franklin got a three year sentence for her part in the scheme.

Russell was out after serving nine years for other drug trafficking convictions at the time of this latest case.

DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said of the incident: “This case displayed exceptional work by everyone involved.  This case is a prime example of why law enforcement needs a good working relationship among agencies and I couldn’t be more thankful for the wonderful relationship we have with these agencies.”

“This is a HUGE WIN on the war on drugs in our County and many more.   The volume of drugs these criminals were dealing in would no doubt spread to numerous surrounding Counties and no telling how many families would have been affected.”