A Wrightsville man, known as "Fat," will spend over 16 years behind bars for running a drug ring while also facing additional time for dog fighting, according to federal court documents. Travis Lee Martin, 42, copped to charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and heroin, Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced. Martin's 200-month sentence will be tacked onto punishment from an upcoming dogfighting case, which means he could be locked up even longer.
Martin, along with 11 other defendants, was snagged in a sprawling 27-count indictment detailing drug peddling throughout four Georgia counties, court records show, the U.S. Attorney's office led a bust that hauled in over $80,000 in cash, drugs, and firearms across multiple homes and cars. The sweep—spanning three years of investigatory work—has seen all involved parties plead guilty with sentences up to 87 months each, "This sentence is a testament to the outstanding investigation by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other law enforcement partners,” Steinberg praised.
Authorities stumbled upon a sordid scene of animal cruelty with 96 dogs suspected of being used for fighting rescued from several properties in their crackdown on Martin's operations, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The dogs' plight triggered a separate case, with Martin and four others pleading guilty to conspiracy offenses under the Animal Welfare Act. Sentell Eugene Carey, one of the conspirators, already landed four years probation for his drug trafficking role.
“Illicit drugs like methamphetamine and heroin have destroyed countless lives," DEA Atlanta's boss Robert J. Murphy said, highlighting the DEA's commitment to bring offenders to justice. In an effort highlighting the seriousness of animal cruelty, Miles Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations, acknowledged their prioritization of animal fighting cases stating, “We would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica K. Rock for aggressively prosecuting perpetrators of animal fighting, and our federal, local state law enforcement partners, for their dedicated work in this investigation.” Sentences for the dog fighting charges will follow the completion of pre-sentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Services, as the dogs undergo care and rehabilitation.
