Russell guilty on 10 counts distributing drugs, acquitted on 11 others

Ronnie Russell

An Alexander City man was found guilty on drug charges last week by a Tallapoosa County jury.

Ronnie Russell Jr. faced a week-long trial as jurors sorted mountains of video and audio recordings of ‘controlled buys’ by a confidential informant (CI). The buys were made over a three month period in early 2018. Russell was indicted on 21 counts of distribution of a controlled substance, three counts of possession of a controlled substance, certain person forbidden to possess a firearm, first-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The controlled substances were methamphetamines, cocaine, synthetic marijuana and marijuana according to scientists with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Cliff Williams is a staff writer for Tallapoosa Publishers.