Metter man sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for meth distribution

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - A Metter man has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

Nakia Donaldson, 36, was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and serve four years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall imposed the sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and testimony, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began investigating Donaldson’s methamphetamine distribution in 2024.

During a controlled purchase in July of that year, investigators used hidden recording devices to capture Donaldson selling nine ounces of methamphetamine to undercover agents for $1,400. Testing at the GBI’s Coastal Regional Lab later confirmed the substance contained methamphetamine.

Two co-defendants, both from Metter, also pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine:

• Efram Todd Donaldson, 57, was sentenced to four years in prison, a $2,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
• Justin E. Aldrich, 40, was sentenced to time served, a $1,500 fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Margaret E. “Meg” Heap credited law enforcement with disrupting the drug supply in Metter and said her office would continue pursuing trafficking operations.

GBI Director Chris Hosey said the sentencing followed undercover work conducted alongside law enforcement partners to stop methamphetamine distribution in the community.

The GBI and local law enforcement agencies investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Alexander Hamner and Darron J. Hubbard prosecuted it.