Phenix City man sentenced in Columbus Welcome Center drug bust involving 10 kilos of cocaine

One of the two suspects convicted of trying to sell 26 pounds of cocaine to undercover agents at Columbus’ Georgia Welcome Center in 2017 has been sentenced to federal prison.

Kenneth James, 51, of Phenix City, was sentenced to 128 months, or more than 10 years in prison for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it. His prison term is to be followed by five years of supervised release.

James was arrested with Marcus Marshall, 35, of Columbus, in the parking lot of the Welcome Center on Oct. 16, 2017, after Marshall agreed in recorded phone calls to sell an undercover agent 10 kilograms of cocaine at $27,500 per kilo.

Agents documented James’ meeting Marshall at a motel to move a box of cocaine bricks from the trunk of his 2001 Mercedes Benz S-5Z to Marshall’s 2011 BMW X-5 sport-utility vehicle. James and Marshall then drove to meet the undercover officer at the Williams Road Welcome Center, where they were arrested during the transaction.

Columbus police said it was one of the largest drug busts in the department’s history. Besides the cocaine, valued at $1.2 million, they seized both suspects’ vehicles, $24,000 in cash, and four guns — an automatic rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and two pistols.

After a three-day trial, a federal court jury deliberated just 90 minutes before finding James guilty March 13. He had a previous federal conviction for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it in December 1999 in Alabama, authorities said.

Like James, Marshall also had a previous conviction, in July 2004, for distributing cocaine base, for which he was sentenced to 6½ years in prison, authorities said.

In the Columbus case, Marshall pleaded guilty in December 2018 to possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.