Rome-Area Fentanyl Dealer Receives Federal Prison Sentence

Deaja Simone Clemons, 29 of Cedartown, has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.                                                                                                                                        

“Clemons sold thousands of fentanyl pills at a time that the illegal distribution and use of this drug was continuing to ravage communities within and outside our district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “Our Office is grateful for the collaboration among our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners which makes it possible to combat the threat of drug traffickers like Clemons.”

“Illicit drugs like fentanyl has destroyed countless lives,”  said Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “Keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges, and other information presented in court: In February 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rome, Georgia, Field Office received information that Deaja Clemons was dealing fentanyl in the Rome area. A subsequent investigation revealed that in the month of February, Clemons sold 121 blue pills marked with M30 (counterfeit pills made to resemble oxycodone 30 mg pills) that contained fentanyl. Clemons had sold 60 of those fentanyl pills in Rome, and 61 in Cedartown, Georgia. 

In early April 2024, DEA special agents and Polk County police officers followed Clemons from Rome to Polk County. Polk County officers stopped Clemons en route back to Rome and, during a search of her car, recovered 124 blue, counterfeit “M30” pills containing fentanyl and $3,922 in cash. Clemons was arrested and, during the investigation that followed, DEA special agents discovered that Clemons had been selling about 300 fentanyl pills a week for approximately three months.

United States District Judge William M. Ray, II, sentenced Deaja Simone Clemons, 29, of Rome, Ga., to 63 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Clemons was convicted of the charges on December 13, 2024, after she pleaded guilty.          

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AC-HIDTA), and the Polk County Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas M. Forsyth, III and Calvin A. Leipold, III prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strategic Initiative focused on combatting the fentanyl crisis in northwest Georgia. OCDETF identifies and eliminates the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.