North Carolina man sentenced to 15 years in prison plus supervised release for drug, firearm charges

Published 7:37 am Thursday, November 18, 2021

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A Rocky Mount man was sentenced November 17 to 180 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 1,000 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin and fentanyl; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, James Otis Davis Jr., 33, was named in an indictment filed on December 16, 2020. Davis entered a plea of guilty on September 21, 2021.

In July 2019, agents learned that the defendant was selling heroin and fentanyl from hotel rooms in Rocky Mount, according to the release. On September 16, 2019, agents conducted a controlled purchase of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from Davis.

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“Agents then executed a search warrant at the hotel room where the controlled purchase took place. Davis and his 8-month-old child were present,” stated the release. “During the execution of the search warrant, agents seized 33 bindles of heroin and fentanyl, cocaine, a digital scale, currency, and a loaded .380 caliber handgun.”

On May 6 and June 4, 2020, agents conducted additional controlled purchases of heroin from Davis. The release stated that on June 4, 2020, agents executed a search warrant on the hotel room Davis was using; agents seized 14.52 grams of heroin, cocaine and a 9mm handgun.

A traffic stop of Davis’s vehicle was conducted July 2, 2020. Davis was found in possession of six bindles of heroin and fentanyl.

“Davis admitted that he had trafficked more than a kilogram of heroin over the course of approximately six years,” stated the release.

G. Norman Acker III, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted.

This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative, according to the release: “This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.” For additional information about the initiative, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.

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