Memphis, TN – A federal judge has sentenced Terry Curtis , 41 , to 27 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl and possession of firearms. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, in April 2022, narcotics officers with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office detected a package containing 2 kilograms of methamphetamine and 497 grams of fentanyl being shipped to Curtis’s home. After the package was received by Curtis at his home, officers served a search warrant. They recovered the substances as well as two loaded firearms, pill presses, scales, cash, and other drug paraphernalia indicative of drug distribution. The investigation revealed Curtis had been selling a pound of methamphetamine daily.
In September 2025, Curtis pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On May 13, 2026, United States District Judge Mark S. Norris sentenced Curtis to 324 months of federal imprisonment, to be followed by ten years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney Dunavant said, "Because illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic, President Trump has designated fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). Its lethality is significant, and those who ship and traffic deadly poison into our communities will be severely punished and incapacitated.”
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Narcotics Division and the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Musselwhite and Bryce Phillips prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States government.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov . Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of Tennessee — U.S. Department of Justice press release.