A Fayetteville man has been sentenced to more than 32 years in prison on federal charges associated with kidnapping, possession of illegal substances, and firearms violations between 2018 and 2019, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
Yomere Juan Busbee, 39, pleaded guilty on May 3, 2022, to a charge of possession of drugs with the intent to distribute them. He was found guilty on Sept. 2, 2022, after a three-day jury trial on multiple charges related to kidnapping, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations.
On March 24, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Richard E. Myers II sentenced Busbee to more than 32 years in prison, according to a news release.
The charges stem from a report of people being held against their will about 5 p.m. Dec. 18, 2018, in the 3700 block of Bragg Boulevard. Officers located the victims, but the suspects fled from the area before officers arrived. The case was assigned to the Fayetteville Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit for further investigation, the release said.
As a result of the investigation, three people were arrested, and the case was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On Jan. 4, 2019, detectives charged Busbee, 39, of Fayetteville, with robbery with a dangerous weapon; first-degree kidnapping; first-degree sex offense; two counts of human trafficking; trafficking in cocaine; possession of a firearm by a felon; and possession of a stolen firearm, the news release said.
On Jan. 9, 2019, detectives charged James Calvin McEachern Jr., 36, of Fayetteville, with robbery with a dangerous weapon; aiding armed robbery; conspiracy to commit robbery with dangerous weapon; first-degree kidnapping; second-degree kidnapping; first-degree sex offense; and assault with a deadly weapon with a minor present, the release said.
On Feb. 13, 2019, detectives charged Merianda Gray, 29, of Fayetteville, with first-degree kidnapping; second-degree kidnapping; first-degree sex offense; aiding and abetting armed robbery; and assault with a deadly weapon with a minor present, the release said.
McEachern pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison and five years of supervised release.
Gray pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and was sentenced to seven years in custody, five years of supervised release, and $2,000 in restitution, the release said.
