Mistrial in drug sale case after jury deadlocks

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Due to a deadlocked jury, a mistrial was declared Thursday in the case against a Fayetteville man accused of selling drugs from a home near East Fayette Elementary school in January 2003.

Montez Tobias Milam, 22, won’t be set free, however. He was convicted in September of separate charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence for that conviction.

The jury couldn’t agree on whether Milam was guilty or innocent; Georgia law requires a unanimous verdict to adjudicate a case. The jury was not aware of Milam’s previous conviction, however, because prosecutors didn’t seek to have it entered into evidence.

The case featured testimony from an undercover agent for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department’s Drug Task Force and the informant who made the buy for the drug task force.

The agent testified that the informant was given $20 to enter the house at 155 Booker Avenue after she was searched to make sure she didn’t have any contraband on her. She came back with two rocks of crack cocaine and she positively identified Milam, known on the street as “T” as the person who sold her the drugs.

In her closing argument, defense attorney Michelle Lord said the agent didn’t reveal how thorough the search was and since the informant was paid she could have brought the crack cocaine herself to make the case against her client.

The agent testified that the informant was paid to make the purchase and the informant was someone the sheriff’s office has used for years to make undercover drug buys. In other cases, undercover agents themselves make the buys, the agent added.

The investigation into the activity at the residence on Booker Avenue started after the sheriff’s department received numerous complaints from the area, the agent said.

“There were numerous individuals coming in and out of the house,” the agent said.

It is possible Milam could be re-tried for the charges.