Accused drug dealer sentenced in meth case

A Neshoba County woman was sentenced to 24 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation after earlier this year pleading guilty, federal officials announced last Thursday.

Winter Kate Lewis 32, of the Pearl River community on the Choctaw Indian Reservation, is accused of distributing methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation from May 2019 to April 2020. 

She is the daughter of Deborah Martin, a member of the Tribal Council where she represents the Pearl River Community.

In July 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Lewis on a three-count charge involving the possession and distribution of methamphetamine on the Choctaw Indian Reservation. Earlier this spring, Lewis pleaded guilty to count one with intent to distribute methamphetamine. As stated in court, Lewis admitted her role in the conspiracy.

Lewis was sentenced to 24 months in prison, plus a $1,500 fine, followed by five years of supervised release after being released from prison. The sentencing took place at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson.

U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi and special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Brad Byrley commended the work of members of the Choctaw Police Department, the U.S. Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who investigated the case.