Gulfport, Miss. – A Gulfport man was sentenced to a total of 157 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to court documents and proceedings, on March 16, 2021, Joshua Taylor, 23, sold methamphetamine to an individual.  Law enforcement officers located Taylor and initiated a traffic stop. During the stop, officers found heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA-Ecstasy, and, in the center console of the vehicle, a loaded Glock 19, 9mm handgun, with 16 rounds of ammunition.

Taylor was indicted on April 14, 2021, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pled guilty on August 12, 2021.

The DEA and Harrison County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.