OPELIKA, Ala. - A federal jury in Opelika convicted a Smiths Station man on Oct. 29 of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to WTVM. Prosecutors said Kenneth Byron Halsey, 50, sold at least that amount to two people at his home in Smiths Station, and jurors were shown a video recording of the transaction. That same day, a Hogansville, Georgia, man was sentenced to more than 21 years in a separate methamphetamine case, prosecuted by the same federal office, that began with a police chase in Roanoke, Alabama.

Both cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama and investigated with the Drug Enforcement Administration, WTVM reported on Nov. 2. They involve people from two counties on either side of the Chattahoochee Valley, Lee County, Alabama, which borders Russell County and Phenix City, and Troup County, Georgia. Here is what each case shows, based on the reporting available so far.

The Smiths Station verdict

Halsey was found guilty after a trial in Opelika, WTVM reported. The charge was distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. According to prosecutors, the evidence included a video of the sale at his Smiths Station residence, which jurors saw during the trial.

Halsey faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, according to the report. A federal district judge will decide the sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The federal system has no parole, and a sentencing hearing will be scheduled in the coming months, WTVM reported, so no sentence has been set.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lee County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Faith Mote and John J. Geer III prosecuted it for the Middle District of Alabama. A conviction at trial is not a sentence, and the final penalty will depend on the judge's findings at the later hearing.

The Roanoke chase and a 262-month sentence

Thomas Eugene Arnold, 39, of Hogansville, Georgia, was sentenced on Oct. 29 to 262 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to WTVM. That is 21 years and 10 months. He had pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, so there was no trial.

The case began on Sept. 13, 2025, when Roanoke police tried to stop the vehicle Arnold was driving, WTVM reported. He did not stop and led officers on a high-speed chase, lost control and struck a business, then ran on foot. He was arrested after continuing to resist officers.

Officers found a handgun and a shoulder bag containing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, multiple empty plastic bags and a digital scale, according to the report. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Roanoke Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Wilson and Megan A. Kirkpatrick prosecuted the case. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole, WTVM noted.

The two cases side by side

Why the 50-gram line matters

Both defendants were charged at the 50-gram level, which is the threshold WTVM cited for Halsey's 10-year mandatory minimum. A mandatory minimum means the judge cannot go below that term for a conviction on that charge, though the judge still sets the actual sentence within the legal range. In Arnold's case, the 262-month term is far above the 10-year floor, and the reports do not say how the judge arrived at that number.

The reports also do not say what other charges, if any, either man faced, and they do not describe any prior records. Readers should treat the figures above as the facts available from the published accounts. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama announces cases on its website, and updates on Halsey's sentencing date would come through the court.

What is still unknown

The date and judge for Halsey's sentencing have not been published. The reports also do not say whether either defendant plans to appeal, and they do not give the names of defense attorneys. The Columbus Times will update this story if prosecutors or the court release more details.