A Gainesville man admitted in Gwinnett County Superior Court Monday that he was guilty of selling fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine – and, for that, he’s being sent back to prison where he has been ordered to spend the rest of his life.
Irvin Lamar Simpson, 57, pled guilty to three counts of trafficking fentanyl, one count of trafficking methamphetamine, one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, obstruction, and possession of a drug-related object.
He was given a 45-year sentence with 40 to serve in prison without the possibility of parole.
“This defendant had a chance to change with his release from federal prison. But he turned his back on that opportunity,” District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said.
In January 2023, GBI drug agents began watching Simpson after receiving a tip that he was selling illegal drugs. Agents saw him get into a car carrying a backpack. Gwinnett County sheriff’s deputies stopped the car, and a K-9 alerted deputies that drugs were in the backpack.
In addition to 35 grams of fentanyl, 98 grams of methamphetamine, and more than 20 grams of cocaine – altogether worth roughly $4,000 – investigators recovered a handgun and scales from the backpack.
The defendant pulled away from deputies trying to arrest him and ran into a wooded area close to where the car was stopped. Gwinnett sheriff K-9 Cino was able to track the defendant down and hold him until he was taken into custody.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Simpson was a career drug dealer with felony convictions dating back to the 1980s. He was out of federal prison on early release because officials believed the defendant was no longer a threat to society. However, just six months before he was arrested in Gwinnett County, the defendant was stopped in Habersham County with a “distribution amount” of fentanyl.