TIFTON — Two of three young Tifton men charged this year with operating what drug agents deemed one of the largest methamphetamine labs ever found in Tift County pleaded guilty in criminal court Wednesday.

Randy Edward Carmichael, 24, 2702 Douglas St., Valdosta, and Christopher Lee Gay, 21, 41 Robin Cook Road, were arrested February 27, the day drug enforcement agents with the Tift County Sheriff’s Department discovered the lab in the carport area of a Forrest Lakes home.

John Ryan Lindsey, 23, 4903 Woodland Court, who was living at the home at the time, eluded agents until the next day when he was arrested.

Gay and Lindsey pleaded guilty to various charges in Tift Superior Court. They were sentenced by Tift Superior Court Chief Judge John D. McCorvey.

In addition to a guilty plea in the February case, Gay pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine stemming from an arrest last September. He was sentenced to serve 20 years in the state penitentiary in the February case. In the August case, he was sentenced to serve 30 years in the state penitentiary. Ten of those years run concurrent with the February sentence.

McCorvey also ordered Gay to pay $10,000 in fines, restitution to the state and other agencies and was ordered banished from the Tift Judicial circuit.

Gay and Lindsey were both charged March 5 for the burglaries of two homes, one in southeast and the other in southwest Tift County, that occurred in early February.

Gay pleaded guilty one count of burglary Wednesday and was sentenced to serve 11 years, 11 months and 11 days in the state penitentiary — one day short of a sentenced that would have allowed him a review by a panel of judges to determine if it was too excessive.

Lindsey pleased guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine and two counts of burglary. McCorvey told the court he was delaying sentencing on the meth charge. He sentenced Lindsey to serve 20 years in the state penitentiary on one burglary charge. He will serve eight of those years in prison and the rest on probation. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and restitution to the victim.

In the second burglary case, Lindsey was sentenced to serve 20 years in the state penitentiary, also with eight years actually served and the remainder on probation. The sentence runs concurrent to the first burglary sentence.

Over $30,000 in cash and jewelry was taken in the burglaries, some of which was recovered and returned to the owners. some of the stolen money taken was used to pay for large-ticket luxury items.

Gay was also charged last September with aggravated assault, battery, possession of methamphetamine and sale/manufacturing of a controlled substance. He was released on a $5,000 bond.

On January 30, Gay was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license. He was released on a total of $3,850 bond for those offenses.

Carmichael has entered not guilty pleas in his cases and the date of his trial is unknown.



To contact reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321, ext. 208.