Atlanta Man Sentenced to 15 Years on Federal Drug and Weapons Charges
Reginald Pierce was sentenced in federal court for dealing fentanyl while armed with an illegally converted machinegun.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 8:56 a.m. ET
According to official court documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Reginald Pierce, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, was on July 30, 2026, to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. The sentence was formally announced on August 11, 2026, in an open and developing case.
Official documents show that Pierce pled guilty on March 17, 2026, to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of unlawful possession of a machinegun, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On May 30, 2023, a Fulton County Sheriff's Office investigator stopped a vehicle in which Pierce was a passenger. Pierce attempted to flee and tackled the investigator before being arrested. Investigators recovered an illegally converted, fully automatic pistol from Pierce's pants pocket, which law enforcement later linked to a drive-by shooting in East Point, Georgia, a week earlier. Officers also seized 469 fentanyl pills, $10,020 in cash, and oxycodone and methamphetamine pills in and near the vehicle.
Official filings state that Pierce is a twice-convicted felon whose prior convictions include armed robbery and a gang-related aggravated assault that involved the stabbing of five victims. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee imposed the 15-year sentence. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Renaud. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, Benjamin Gibbons, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Atlanta Field Division, and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat highlighted the joint enforcement efforts following the sentencing.
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