Baton Rouge man sentenced to 160 months in federal prison on drug charges

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Baton Rouge man will spend more than 13 years in prison after his sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles.

Timothy Franklin, 40, of Baton Rouge, was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison. He must serve “three years of supervised release following his sentence,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The Baton Rouge man was sentenced after being convicted of four counts of heroin distribution. DOJ called Franklin a “career offender” and the Baton Rouge resident was the subject of a 2019 investigation.

“According to the confessions he made on February 25, 2019 as part of his guilty plea,
controlled conversations with a confidential source (‘CS’) where the CS was requested to meet for a drug transaction
that the two had previously discussed,” the Justice Department said.

The CS met with Franklin and recorded the interaction. He gave a plastic bag containing 112.2 grams of heroin to the CS in exchange for $10,000.

Franklin’s identity was confirmed after the CS stated he was the only person in the vehicle.

Nearly two months later, another controlled purchase was made between CS and Franklin. In that case, 53.96 grams of heroin were given to CS in exchange for $4,800.

On May 30, 2019, a third controlled purchase was made. That day, the CS received 56 grams of heroin in exchange for $5,000.

“After the first three controlled purchases, agents received court permission to tap telephone conversations
and text messages sent to and from Franklin’s cell phone,” the Justice Department said.

Two months after the third controlled purchase, another meeting was scheduled, while the phone was tapped.

The fourth controlled purchase followed, with Franklin giving the CS 51.18 grams of heroin in exchange for $5,000.

Officers were able to capture the meeting from the air.

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation with assistance from other law enforcement agencies.

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