KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — A drug dealer with 21 prior felonies has been convicted again in Knox County, according to prosecutors in District Attorney Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit.
Randall Ledon Tate, 58, was convicted of possession with intent to sell heroin and alprazolam in a drug-free school zone.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorneys Phil Morton and Larry Dillon explained to the jury that on Nov. 26, 2016, Knoxville Police Department Officer David Lee stopped a vehicle driven by Tate on Linden Avenue for a broken taillight and a cracked windshield.
Tate could not provide any identification and gave the officer two fake social security numbers and dates of birth, according to a release from the DA's office. Officers found a Xanax (alprazolam) pill in Tate’s pocket and text messages on his phone related to selling Xanax.
When Tate was taken to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility, he had 4.38 grams of heroin and 12 additional Xanax pills in his possession. KPD Organized Crime Investigator Phil Jinks obtained a search warrant for Tate’s phone which revealed text messages about the distribution of both heroin and Xanax, according to the release.
The DA's office said Tate has 21 prior felony convictions accumulated over the past 35 years. His convictions out of Knox County, Blount County, and Queens County, New York, are for property offenses and drug distribution offenses.
Judge Steve Sword set the case for sentencing on March 27. Tate faces a minimum of 15 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
