Two men sentenced in Northeast Cobb drug trafficking case

Two Cobb County men arrested last spring in a Northeast Cobb drug trafficking case that also included major weapons charges have been sentenced to prison.

Kyle Nixon, 26, was given an eight-year sentence, followed by five years of supervised release. Eric Gamez, 27, was sentenced to nine years and five months, with five years of supervised release.

The sentences were announced Monday by the Cobb District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta. Northeast Cobb drug trafficking case, Kyle Nixon, Eric Gamez

Nixon and Gamez were arrested April 6, 2016 following a joint investigation by the Marietta/Cobb/Smyrna Organized Crime Unit and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

A search warrant was executed at Nixon’s residence on Sanford Drive in Northeast Cobb, where authorities found 400 grams of cocaine and more 300 grams of heroin, which authorities believe they intended to sell.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, more than $13,000 in cash and 19 firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, also were discovered at the home.

The men tried to flee the residence, but were taken into custody at the scene, according to police. Nixon pleaded guilty in April 2017 and was sentenced in July. Gamez pleaded guilty in February and his sentence was handed down Sept. 14, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“These defendants were distributing cocaine and heroin while protecting their drug business with an arsenal of firearms,” Atlanta U. S. Attorney John Horn said in a statement. “Their actions disregarded the safety of our community, but swift action by law enforcement kept them from causing further harm.”