CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. — A Tennessee man was convicted of trafficking fentanyl in Georgia following a one-day trial last week.
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Ladarius Nollie, 35, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was found guilty after Catoosa County detectives discovered nearly 10 grams of powdered fentanyl hidden under a mattress in a motel room he had rented, according to the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
On Jan. 8, Catoosa County Detectives Zach Roden and Chris Lyons acted on an anonymous tip that led them to the Econo Lodge motel in Fort Oglethorpe, where Nollie was staying. Authorities said they found him in a room with two women, a mother and her adult daughter.
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As deputies were about to arrest Nollie on outstanding warrants, they spotted methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in plain view.
Deputies said they also found fentanyl hidden under the mattress.
Evidence presented at the trial showed that Nollie had rented the motel room and brought the drugs himself.
Testimony also revealed that Nollie exchanged the drugs for sexual acts with the two women.
Video evidence played during the trial captured Nollie asking one of the women if she thought the detectives would search under the bed, followed by his remark, “they ain’t going to find it.”
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Nollie was sentenced to five years in prison followed by 25 years of probation.
District Attorney Clayton Fuller said those who traffic drugs into Catoosa County will face serious consequences.
“This defendant not only trafficked poison into our community, he preyed on vulnerable women,” Fuller said. 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. That’s my promise to the people of this circuit and the Chattanooga region.”