A Chattanooga man has been convicted of trafficking fentanyl in Catoosa County and will serve prison time after a one-day trial last week.
A jury found 35-year-old Ladarius Nollie guilty on Sept. 29 following a case that prosecutors said showed he brought fentanyl into Georgia and exchanged drugs for sex acts. Chief Superior Court Judge Brian House sentenced Nollie to five years in prison followed by 25 years of probation.
Authorities said the investigation began on Jan. 8, when Catoosa County detectives responded to a tip that Nollie was staying at the Econo Lodge in Fort Oglethorpe and had active warrants from Walker and Hamilton counties. Detectives Zach Roden and Chris Lyons found Nollie in a motel room with two women — a mother and her adult daughter.
When they entered to arrest him, investigators saw methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in plain view. A search of the room uncovered a bag of powdered fentanyl weighing nearly 10 grams hidden under the mattress.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Nollie had rented the room and brought the drugs with him. Prosecutors said he gave the narcotics to the women in exchange for sexual acts. Video shown to jurors captured Nollie asking one of the women whether she thought detectives would look under the bed, before saying, “they ain’t going to find it.”
District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller commended the team’s work and vowed continued enforcement.
“This verdict was delivered because of the strength and dedication of our law enforcement and our trial team,” Fuller said. “This defendant not only trafficked poison into our community, he preyed on vulnerable women.
“We asked for a stiffer sentence, but that’s okay — because if you think crossing the state line to traffic fentanyl here is a free pass, think again. Stay in Tennessee. Tennessee Trash who brings their poison to Catoosa County will get an all-expenses-paid trip to one of Georgia’s finest institutional resorts — behind bars.”
