Omari A. Nicks, previously convicted for cocaine trafficking, has been sentenced to 12 and a half years in federal prison after being found guilty of distributing methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl from his Atlanta apartment while illegally possessing a loaded AR-style rifle.
“Nicks is a serial drug trafficker who posed a serious threat to public safety by dealing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs while armed with a loaded, high-powered rifle that he was not allowed to have,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Nicks’s sentence is just one more example of the positive, collaborative impact that law enforcement partners in north Georgia achieve in our communities.”
“When criminals mix deadly drugs with guns, the danger is magnified,” said Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “This sentence makes clear they will be held accountable.”
“Bartow County continues to aggressively target those who sell fentanyl and other dangerous drugs in our community,” said Major Mark Mayton of the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force. “We will continue to work with our partners to identify and arrest those people who are furthering the fentanyl crisis.”
“The Cartersville Police Department takes great pride in working with our federal law enforcement partners, especially when our collaboration results in holding criminals accountable who bring dangerous weapons and drugs into our community,” said Chief Frank McCann of the Cartersville Police Department. “By continuing these partnerships, our goal is to make it clear to all criminal organizations that the City of Cartersville will not be a haven for your illicit activity.”
Court records show that in January 2025 Nicks was selling methamphetamine and fentanyl from his Atlanta apartment complex to customers coming from areas including Bartow County. On February 6, 2025, DEA agents searched his apartment after observing him selling these substances. When agents entered, Nicks attempted escape by climbing out a third-story window but fell off the building and was arrested.
Agents discovered approximately two kilograms of methamphetamine, one kilogram of cocaine, 50 grams of fentanyl, about $5,400 cash, a hydraulic press used for forming powdered drugs into bricks, an AR-15 style rifle loaded with a 30-round magazine inside Nicks’s apartment. They also recovered about 100 grams of heroin discarded by an accomplice during the search.
United States District Judge Eleanor L. Ross sentenced Nicks—age 47 and from Smyrna—to twelve years and six months imprisonment followed by five years supervised release after he pleaded guilty on April 8, 2025 to conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, and Cartersville Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Calvin A. Leipold III and Thomas M. Forsyth III prosecuted this case.
The prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a national initiative led by the Department of Justice focused on eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations through efforts coordinated via Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
For additional details or inquiries regarding this case or related matters within the Northern District of Georgia: http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
