Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has made it clear if you traffick women and children in Mississippi you will face stiff prosecution and the addition of fentanyl won’t help your case.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Tuesday the recent sentencing of Lonnie Coleman of Memphis, Tennessee. Coleman was found guilty of two counts of human trafficking and one count of possession with intent to transfer fentanyl. This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
Hinds County Special Circuit Court Judge James Bell sentenced Coleman to 20 years for each count of human trafficking and eight years for possession with intent to transfer fentanyl for a total of 48 years to serve day-for-day without the possibility of parole, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) as a habitual offender.
"We are committed to continuing our investigative operations to undermine human trafficking rings, and we are intent on seeing these cases through in the courtroom," said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. "When we put these predators away, we help these victims take back their power from their traffickers, and that is an important foundation as they rebuild their lives.”
Coleman was arrested on separate drug charges in Memphis in 2018 following a massive sting operation aimed at taking drugs and weapons off the streets. That investigation resulted in 522 arrest warrants that resulted in hundreds of arrests. Authorities still have active warrants in those cases for people who are believed to have fled the area.
Since taking office in 2020, Attorney General Fitch has made efforts to end human trafficking one of her highest priorities. To date, her investigators have certified 516 law enforcement officers across the State, led 57 multi-jurisdictional operations, made 98 arrests, and recovered 335 victims – including 22 minors.
In 2021, General Fitch launched her statewide human trafficking awareness campaign, Be the Solution. With this multi-prong approach, General Fitch continues to empower all Mississippians to help identify, report, and end human trafficking in Mississippi. Learn more about these anti-trafficking efforts at https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/bethesolution/
