United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Aleef Jamar Nicks, 39, of Charlotte, to 108 months in prison yesterday, on drug trafficking and firearm charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Bell also ordered Nicks to serve three years under court supervision after completing his prison term.

Joining U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement is Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, and Sheriff Bill Beam of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, on April 30, 2020, a deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in which Nicks was a passenger. An individual later identified as Nicks’ girlfriend was the driver of the vehicle. Court documents show that, over the course of the traffic stop, Nicks removed from a backpack several ounces of cocaine which he gave to his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time. Law enforcement later found the cocaine on the female passenger. Inside the backpack, law enforcement also found a loaded firearm and several thousand dollars. An analysis of Nicks’ two seized cell phones revealed that he engaged in extensive drug trafficking activities. Law enforcement also found on the cell phones photographs of narcotics, large stacks of cash, and firearms, including the pistol seized from Nicks’ backpack. On November 20, 2020, Nicks pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm by a felon. Nicks has three prior federal convictions for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.

Nicks is currently in federal custody. Upon designation of a federal facility, he will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.  

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the DEA and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of this case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuted the case.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, www.campusdrugprevention.org and www.dea.gov. Also follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv.

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