United States Drug Enforcement Administration

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 sentencing hearing, O’Dell conspired with other individuals to traffic methamphetamine in and around Jackson County and elsewhere in North Carolina. Court records show that on March 9, 2021, deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office were conducting a welfare check on a female who was a passenger in O’Dell’s vehicle. At the time, the vehicle was parked at the parking lot of a Dollar General Store in Sylva, N.C. Over the course of the service call, law enforcement received conflicting accounts from O’Dell, the female passenger, and another male passenger regarding their travel, the reason for their stop, and their ultimate destination. Subsequently, court records show that law enforcement conducted a search of O’Dell’s vehicle, from which they recovered methamphetamine, digital scales, small plastic bags, and other items commonly used for the repackaging and redistribution of methamphetamine. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that O’Dell is a Lt. in the Aryan Brotherhood in Georgia, and that he made multiple trips from Georgia to North Carolina to transport substantial quantities of methamphetamine.

On October 7, 2022, O’Dell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Tom Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte 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.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, www.CampusDrugPrevention.gov, and www.dea.gov . Also follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv

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