A Northeast Georgia man with a lengthy rap sheet faces a stiff prison sentence after pleading guilty to armed drug trafficking charges. Mandrell Antwoin Hull, 43, accepted guilt for cocaine possession with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. Self, III, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hull, serving supervised release for a 2018 federal drug conviction, now confronts a mandatory minimum of 15 years and could receive up to life in prison. The judge will set the sentencing date, and the system allows for no parole. Detailing the events leading to Hull's capture, on April 11, 2023, officers found cocaine, over $30,000 in cash, and a 9mm pistol at his residence when the United States Probation Office, suspecting drug activity, reached out to the FBI in Athens for help with a search.
In a statement reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary emphasized that, "Repeat offenders who continually disregard the law and whose actions harm our communities must be held accountable." Senior Supervisory Special Agent of FBI Atlanta's Athens Office, Robert Gibbs, told the Office, "Criminals like Hull continue to plague our communities with blatant disregard for the safety of others and reckless indifference to the law."
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a coalition of law enforcement and community partners aimed at curbing violence and gun crimes, is handling this case. The initiative seeks to enhance neighborhood safety through building trust, supporting violence prevention organizations, targeted enforcement, and measuring outcomes. The Department of Justice reinforced PSN's violence-reduction strategy on May 26, 2021. Hull’s prior convictions include five felonies in Athens-Clarke County, one in Gwinnett County, and one federal felony. The investigation was conducted by the Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison leading the prosecution.
