Ongoing partnerships between local and federal law enforcement agencies have resulted in 17 new indictments on charges of drug trafficking, possessing illegal weapons and gun violence offenses in the Fayetteville area over the past two months, a federal prosecutor announced at a news conference Thursday in Fayetteville.
Michael Easley, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said investigators have seized 16 guns; four auto-sear machine gun switches; nearly 1,500 rounds of ammunition; nearly a kilogram of cocaine; about an ounce of Fentanyl; 100 Ecstasy/Fentanyl pills; cash; and two luxury SUVs as part of the investigation.
The indictments are the result of joint federal, state and local initiatives aimed at combating violent crime and drug trafficking in eastern North Carolina, Easley said. The initiatives are focused on drug trafficking, illegal weapons and gun violence.
“Efforts have been ongoing here in the Fayetteville area for several months aimed at identifying, investigating and prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime and drug trafficking in our communities,” Easley said. “The state of these relationships and these partnerships is strong. We are here today speaking as one team with one voice, with one message: that gun violence and the trafficking of dangerous narcotics in this community will not be tolerated. Not here, not in eastern North Carolina, and not in the Fayetteville area.”
The initiatives, referred to as the Violent Crime Action Plan and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, are a collaboration among the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Fayetteville Police Department; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; FBI; Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office; Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office; and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Representatives of several of these agencies attended Thursday’s news conference.
“There is no daylight between state and federal prosecutors in eastern North Carolina,” Easley said. “We are in constant contact, looking for opportunities as to which agency can provide the more certain or more appropriate outcome in a given case.”
Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden affirmed the strength of the Police Department’s partnerships with outside agencies.
“I just want to reiterate that our partnership with our federal agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office remains strong in order to keep available communities safe and secure,” Braden said.
Easley noted that the collaborations represent a “prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multiagency approach” to public safety. The focus is on prosecuting large criminal networks involved in drug trafficking, while also cracking down on local dealers who lace drugs with Fentanyl, he said. He cautioned that pills are being manufactured that are meant to deceive people, especially young people, into purchasing potentially fatal drugs.
“I want the public to be aware that pills . . pressed into multicolored shapes and sizes, made to look like candy, made to look like vitamins, or made to look like legitimate prescription medication are on the streets,” Easley said.
This multiagency approach allows law enforcement to track the supply chain from international drug cartels to local dealers. Such interagency collaborations, Easley said, are especially relevant now because of the large influx of organized crime in the Fayetteville area.
“At this moment, we have more organized crime and drug-trafficking operations open in the Eastern District of North Carolina than we have ever had in the history of our office,” Easley said. “So much so that we have received four additional federal prosecutor positions to further those efforts combating violent crime, gangs and other matters.”
Convictions secured
In addition to the indictments, Easley announced that convictions were secured earlier this month for all three North Carolina defendants in an international Fentanyl trafficking ring that operated out of Fayetteville, among other cities. Hector Perez Valenzuela was convicted of possessing 7 kilograms of Fentanyl in connection with the trafficking ring, which was responsible for distributing more than 40 kilograms of Fentanyl across the country, Easley said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the 7 kilograms of Fentanyl that were seized in this operation had the ability to completely wipe out the populations of Raleigh, Wilmington, New Bern, Goldsboro, and Fayetteville — not once, not twice, but three times,” Easley said.
Easley warned about the illegal use of Glock switches, which convert a semi-automatic pistol into a machine pistol capable of fully automatic fire.
“Shooters should beware: If you commit a crime of violence or a drug-trafficking offense and use a switch in your gun in furtherance of that crime, you will face a 30-year mandatory minimum in federal prison.
“We are prioritizing those for federal prosecution and those who spray bullets indiscriminately with fully automatic machine guns in furtherance of their violence or their drug trafficking will be met with stern consequences,” Easley said.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West also commented on the urgency of addressing gun violence.
“We’ve had way too much gun violence in our community, senseless murders, senseless shootings that are taking lives, maiming people for life and that sort of thing,” West said. “And we’ll continue to aggressively prosecute those cases in whatever jurisdiction is most appropriate, whether it be state jurisdiction at the courthouse or whether it be at the federal courthouse with U.S. Attorney Easley.”
Easley said that although the Fayetteville Police Department’s quarterly results for 2023 show violent crime is decreasing, staying vigilant is essential in summer months.
“Now, the chief’s latest crime data that was reported for this first quarter is very encouraging. Homicides were down, and crime has been down,” Easley said. “But we know we are on the precipice of the hot summer months when violence tends to peak. And during that time, as we lead into the summer months when gun violence can increase, we are taking firm and concrete action to keep our communities safe.”
Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said environmental factors can lead people down the wrong path, and the city is working with law enforcement to support “marginalized communities that are impacted the most by guns and drugs.”
Colvin said city policymakers are making sure that the “local Police Department has the resources to not only deal with people after the fact but also proactively to work with our local communities.”
Charges filed
The U.S. District Attorney’s Office said nine residents of Fayetteville and the surrounding area face federal prosecution as a result of the investigation:
- Norman Vincent Brown, 33, felon in possession of a firearm.
- Malik Crawford, 26, interference with commerce by robbery and possession of a firearm during a violent crime.
- Joseph Monroe Griffin, 33, felon in possession of a firearm.
- Ondrilleis Malloy, 26, felon in possession of a firearm.
- Demarco McLucas, 22, felon in possession of a firearm.
- Tammy Michelle Mitchell, 42, felon in possession of a firearm.
- Anthony Thomas, 27, interference with commerce by robbery and possession of firearm during a violent crime.
- Samuel Thompson, 20, possession of a machine gun and felon in possession of a firearm.
- Zaire Whitten, 26, felon in possession of a firearm.
In addition, eight individuals were indicted as part of the investigation:
- Erick David Block, 30, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of Fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
- Robert James Colt, also known as “RJ,” 38, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute Fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by a felon.
- Jean Raymond Desire, also known as Krim, 50, conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine; distribution of cocaine; aiding and abetting a crime.
- Rashard Antwon Hardy, also known as Gump, 42, conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine; distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine; abetting a crime.
- Rick Derrell McIntyre, 44, conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
- Laron Marcell McIntyre, also known as Rat, 48, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
- Natadja Denae Owen, 26, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine; distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and aiding and abetting; and distribution of a quantity of cocaine and aiding and abetting.
- Kenneth Brandon Pomeroy Jr., also known as Spazz, 38, conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of Fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Local government reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com.
