Don C. Gilleylen, 50, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and trafficking cocaine and was sentenced to concurrent prison terms, the First Circuit District Attorney’s Office said in a Facebook post on Oct. 1, 2026.
According to the DA’s office, on Sept. 29, 2026, Gilleylen was set for trial on an aggravated trafficking charge in the Circuit Court of Monroe County. After jury selection, he changed his plea and pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine. Senior Circuit Court Judge Paul S. Funderburk sentenced Gilleylen to 10 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with an additional 20 years suspended and five years of post-release supervision.
The DA’s office said the trafficking charge stemmed from a checkpoint conducted by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and was investigated by the North Mississippi Narcotics Unit. Assistant District Attorneys Paul Gault and Nebra Porter prosecuted that case for the state.
In an unrelated matter that the DA’s office said was pending in Lee County, Gilleylen pleaded guilty to the indicted charge of manslaughter in the death of Lucious A. Freeman on Oct. 15, 2021. Upon acceptance of the plea, Judge Funderburk sentenced Gilleylen to the maximum sentence of 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
The DA’s office identified Investigator Jacob Whitlock of the Tupelo Police Department as the investigator in the manslaughter case. Assistant District Attorneys Sadie Gardner and Paul Gault prosecuted that case for the state, the post said.
As part of the plea agreement, the DA’s office said, all sentences were ordered to run concurrent.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
