A Laurens County man has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges. Ricky Rich, 42, of East Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 228 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Fentanyl, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia...

LOS ANGELES – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division announced the sentencing of a large-scale fentanyl distributor operating within Ventura, California. Stephen Gregory Reid, 61, aka “Racer,” of Ventura, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison. The DEA announcement, made last week, was the pinnacle point...

RALEIGH , N.C. – Timothy Mark Blackmon, a 29-year-old resident of Burgaw, has been sentenced to 198 months in prison for possessing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl with the intent to distribute them in the Wilmington area. The counterfeit pills were made to look like a variety of prescription drugs...

ELIZABETH CITY , N.C. – A Tarboro man was sentenced to 96 months in prison for armed drug trafficking. On March 5, 2024, Drako Butler, age 35, pled guilty to the charges. “Narcotics, guns, and money are a recipe for disaster,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “This Tarboro drug trafficker...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A major drug trafficker responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in and around Burke County was sentenced to 25 years in prison today, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Gregory Travis Gowan...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Larry Edward Wood, 62, of Mount Airy, Georgia, was sentenced to 188 months in prison today for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Wood was also ordered to serve five years under court supervision after he is released...

LOS ANGELES – The Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division today announced the results of a multi-agency investigation targeting a Sinaloa drug trafficking network operating within the Inland Empire. Operation “Hotline Bling,” which started in early 2023, culminated last week with 15 arrests and significant drug seizures, including methamphetamine...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Jessie Alan Clark, 42, of Burke County, was sentenced today to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug and gun charges, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two men from the Midlands and a California man and woman were sentenced after pleading guilty in federal court to their roles in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and a related firearms crime. Andre Alexander Boulware, 46, of Columbia, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison...

NEW BERN , N.C. – Jimmy Waylon Johnson, age 59, was sentenced to 179 months and a $50,000 fine for his role as the leader of a drug trafficking organization that distributed pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine across Eastern North Carolina. Johnson pled guilty to two drug trafficking charges and...