Warner Robins man sentenced to 30 years for trafficking methamphetamine

The district attorney’s office said the amount of methamphetamine recovered constituted a trafficking amount.

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A Warner Robins man was sentenced to 30 years after pleading guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, according to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office.

37-year-old Parris Dewayne Bighems pleaded guilty August 6 in Houston County Superior Court. Bighems was sentenced to 30 years, with the first 10 years to be served in prison. He was also ordered to pay a $200,000 fine.

According to the district attorney’s office, the Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Intelligence Unit began investigating Bighems in April 2024 after investigators received information from confidential informants that he was selling drugs from a home on Greenwood Drive.

Investigators conducted several controlled purchases from Bighems at the home during April and May 2024 before obtaining an arrest warrant for Bighems and a search warrant for the residence, according to the release.

The Narcotics Intelligence Unit executed the warrants May 15, 2024.

The district attorney’s office said investigators found illegal drugs in plain view inside Bighems’ room, along with scales, packaging material and a handgun.

Investigators found more than 8 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 3 pounds of synthetic marijuana and several grams of marijuana at the residence, according to the district attorney’s office.

The district attorney’s office said the amount of methamphetamine recovered constituted a trafficking amount.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Mike Smith released the following statement:

“The District Attorney’s Office would like to the Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Intelligence Unit for its dedication and efforts in working together to bring down a career drug dealer that has peddled poison in our community. We would like to especially highlight Investigator Chad Strom’s endeavors in this successful prosecution. The District Attorney’s Office remains committed to protecting the community from drug traffickers. These ‘death dealers’ should always expect to go to prison for a significant sentence following a conviction.”

District Attorney Eric Edwards released the following statement:

“The quantity of methamphetamine recovered in this case leaves no doubt that this defendant was not feeding a personal addiction—he was supplying multiple persons’ addictions. More than eight pounds of methamphetamine represents countless individual doses destined for our neighborhoods, fueling addiction, property crime, violence, and broken families throughout our community. Drug trafficking is not a victimless crime. Every ounce of methamphetamine distributed in Houston County carries with it the potential to destroy lives, burden first responders, and create new victims. That is why our office has made the prosecution of major drug traffickers a priority, and why we will continue to seek substantial prison sentences for those who choose to profit from the misery of others. I am grateful for the outstanding work of Investigator Chad Strom and the Warner Robins Police Department’s Narcotics Intelligence Unit, as well as the prosecution of this case by Senior Assistant District Attorney Mike Smith. Their efforts removed a significant quantity of dangerous narcotics from our streets and made Houston County a safer place for every family that calls it home.”