A member of the Pearl River Community on the Choctaw Indian Reservation has pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi and Robert Eikhoff, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Jackson Office.
Court documents show that Jerithan Keith Willis, 43, was involved in distributing methamphetamine on the reservation. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2025 and entered his guilty plea on March 3, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for June 2, 2026. Willis could face up to twenty years in prison; his sentence will be determined by a federal district judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The investigation was led by the FBI Safe Trails Task Force (STTF), which works with tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to address violent crime and drug trafficking in Indian Country and nearby areas. The STTF has operated on the Choctaw Indian Reservation since 2022 as part of its nearly three-decade presence supporting law enforcement partnerships in these communities.
U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger stated: “I commend the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Choctaw Police Department of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department.” The prosecution team included Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Payne and Brian K. Burns, along with Special Assistant United States Attorney Kalleigh McCoy.
