Meth Dealer Gets Up to 41 Years Behind Bars: DA's Office

Images: Shutterstock; Tracy Rowan (Douglasville Police Department)

DOUGLASVILLE, GA -- A local man will serve up to 41 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to drug trafficking, according to Douglas County prosecutors.

Tracy Rowan, of Douglasvile, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in methamphetamine and two firearm charges in a hearing before Chief Superior Court Judge Robert J. James, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office said.

Douglasville police arrested Rowan on Dec. 16 after they searched his vehicle and a backpack and found 126 grams of methamphetamine, digital scales, small plastic bags and a 9mm handgun, the DA's office said. In searching Rowan, they also found he was carrying $7,000 in cash.

In a statement, District Attorney Brian Fortner said Rowan's conviction and sentence demonstrate that his office will go after "those criminals who seek to prey upon our citizens battling addiction. I applaud [the] sentence, which sends a clear message that drug dealers and career criminals will not receive leniency in Douglas County.”

As a five-time convicted felon, Rowan accepted a plea agreement in which he asked the judge to sentence him to the mandatory minimum sentence under Georgia law, according to the DA's office. But James sentenced him to 41 years, more than the mandatory minimum, with the first 12 years to be served in prison without parole.

When Rowan was arrested in December, he was out on parole for a felony conviction of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, his second conviction on that charge, the DA's office said. Rowan also has been convicted of possessing cocaine, aggravated stalking, and theft by receiving a stolen firearm.