SAVANNAH, GA: A Bryan County man could face decades in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl. Javarus McKinney, a/k/a “Jody,” 34, of Richmond Hill, Ga., was convicted after a four-day trial on charges of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Fentanyl; Possession with Intent to Distribute and...

WAYCROSS, GA: The leader of a south Georgia fentanyl- and heroin-trafficking operation linked to drug overdose deaths has been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison. Eric Lashawn Hayes, a/k/a “Pee Wee,” 39, of Blackshear, Ga., was sentenced to 262 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to...

STATESVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury in Statesville returned a guilty verdict today against Jermaine Douglas Grandy for trafficking fentanyl and illegal possession of firearms, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Grandy, 41, of Lenoir, N.C., was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and...

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...

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, N.C. – Megan Emily Tate, 28, of Sylva, N.C., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf this morning and pleaded guilty to distributing a substance that contained fentanyl which resulted in serious bodily injury, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert...

OMAHA – Throughout 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division seized nearly 4.7 million lethal doses of fentanyl in both pill and powder form. Nationally, DEA investigators reported seizing more than 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl in a 12 month span, enough to kill every American. “The...

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Robeson County woman was sentenced Dec. 21, 2022 to 300 months in prison for conspiring to distribute four hundred grams or more of fentanyl and for possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On April 7, 2022, Jania Delicia Leggett, 28, pled guilty to...

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...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn sentenced today Victoria Kerrigan Irby, 26, of Brevard, North Carolina, to 15 years in federal prison for trafficking narcotics, including fentanyl that resulted in an overdose death, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert J...