United States Drug Enforcement Administration

AUGUSTA, GA- The lead defendant in a major methamphetamine-trafficking organization has been sentenced to two decades in federal prison after admitting his participation in a conspiracy related to at least one overdose death. Jayson Dwayne Wheatley, 42, of Augusta, was sentenced to 240 months in prison after previously pleading guilty...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Cormelius Smith, 32, a prolific methamphetamine trafficker in Wadesboro, N.C., was sentenced to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release today, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Smith’s co-conspirator, Jack Kelly Leak, 49, also of Wadesboro...

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Patricia Ann Hemphill, 51, of Rock Hill, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison after pleading guilty relating to a multi-state drug operation out of the Rock Hill and Charlotte, North Carolina area. Evidence presented to the Court showed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation...

ASHEVILLE, NC – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today that Benjamin Dann Owens, 36, of Hayesville, N.C., was sentenced to 312 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and other narcotics as...

ASHEVILLE, NC – Brandon Todd O’Dell, 34, of Hiawassee, Georgia, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. According to documents filed with the court and today’s...

AUGUSTA, GA – A Georgia prison inmate who led an Augusta-area methamphetamine-trafficking ring has been sentenced to more than two decades in federal prison. Magnum Jelani Neely, 38, of Millen, Ga., an inmate at Dooly State Prison, was sentenced to 278 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to...

SAVANNAH, GA – The final sentence in a major methamphetamine trafficking operation signals the end of a prosecution that saw nearly three dozen defendants sent to prison after pleading guilty. Kristin Sheppard, a/k/a “Kristin Shine,” a/k/a “K Shine,” 32, of Savannah, was sentenced 111 months in prison followed by five...

WILMINGTON, N.C. –– A Goldsboro, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 106 months in prison for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 grams or more of...

STATESVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury in Statesville has convicted Alfonso Roman Brito, 43, of trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell presided over the three-day trial which ended on Wednesday. Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent...

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a three-count indictment against Quonzy Hope, 33, Timario Gayton, 30, Javaris Johnson, 35, and Thomas Perry, 29, all of the York County area, for drug trafficking offenses. The indictment alleges that beginning in August 2022, the defendants engaged in...