A lottery winner's alleged gamble on a meth ring could soon result in a trip to federal prison.
According to WALB-TV, Ronnie Music Jr., 45, of Waycross, Georgia, entered a guilty plea last week for drug trafficking and firearms charges in U.S. District Court in Brunswick. Authorities charged that he conspired with 11 others to distribute 11 pounds of methamphetamine in Ware County and other locations.
Music and his co-conspirators could face a possible life sentence by U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood after the United States Probation Office completes its presentence investigation,
noted a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The television stated in February 2015 that Music won $3 million in the Georgia Lottery. Authorities believe that he used those winnings to purchase and resell meth, noted WALB-TV.
"Defendant Music decided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth," U.S. attorney Ed Tarver said in a statement. "As a result of his unsound investment strategy, Music now faces decades in a federal prison."
Federal prosecutors said in a U.S. Attorney's Office statement that in September 2015, authorities caught Music's co-conspirators attempting to sell crystal meth with a street value of more than $500,000. Through an investigation, authorities identified Music as the meth supplier.
Authorities eventually seized more than $1 million worth of methamphetamine, a large cache of firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, multiple vehicles, and more than $600,000 in cash, according to the statement.
The Huffington Post wrote that Music was working as a maintenance supervisor when he won his $3 million with a scratch-off lottery ticket.
"I buy tickets every once in awhile," Music said in February 2015. "I couldn't believe it, and I still don't believe it yet."
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