A Lamar County man, who investigators believe was a local distributor for the Mexican drug-trafficking cartels, has pleaded guilty to drug charges in Forrest County Circuit Court.

Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich sentenced John Patrick Jackson on Wednesday to 23 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to selling and distributing nearly 10 pounds of cocaine in Forrest and Lamar counties.

Helfrich also ordered Jackson to serve 22 years of post-supervised release.

The 40-year-old Jackson was arrested and charged in May 2008 with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and sale of a controlled substance. The charges came after state investigators found about a half million dollars worth of cocaine in Jackson’s possession.