GREENVILLE - The United States Attorney’s Office announced that today in federal court, Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard sentenced TERRELL RICKY SETTLES, 23, of Smithfield to 84 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
SETTLES was named in an Indictment filed on Dec. 15, 2015, charging him with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of a Mixture Containing Methamphetamine and Heroin and Aiding and Abetting; Maintaining a Place for the Purpose of Manufacturing, Storing, Distributing, and Using Methamphetamine and Aiding and Abetting; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime and Aiding and Abetting. On February 8, 2016, SETTLES pled guilty to these charges.
In June 2015, officers with the Smithfield Police Department, received several complaints from concerned citizens regarding possible drug activity at a residence on Boyette Circle. Detectives also received information from at least two confidential informants which indicated SETTLES was involved in the distribution of narcotics in the Smithfield area. Detectives conducted surveillance and a “trash pull" at the residence on Boyette Circle. On July 17, 2015, officers executed a search warrant at the residence. SETTLES, and two co-defendants were present at the time of the execution of the search warrant. During a search of the residence, detectives located two loaded 9mm pistols in SETTLE’S bedroom; over two hundred grams of methamphetamine; 51 bindles (1.05 grams of heroin1); 2.5 grams of marijuana; approximately 200 rounds of 9mm ammunition; $7,528; and drug packaging materials.
SETTLES is responsible for the distribution of 272.86 grams of methamphetamine and 1.05 grams of heroin. SETTLES also possessed a firearm and maintained a residence for the purpose of distributing narcotics during the commission of these crimes.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort" against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Smithfield Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette prosecuted the case for the government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
