GREENSBORO, N.C. - Since the beginning of 2019, federal judges have sentenced defendants with charges originating in Lee County, North Carolina, to an aggregate total of 942 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin for the Middle District of North Carolina.
In the most recent case, LEO VISTOR PERCELL, JR., age 43, of Sanford, North Carolina, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge N. Carlton Tilley, Jr. to 70 months imprisonment. PERCELL was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. PERCELL pleaded guilty on July 10, 2019 to distributing fentanyl. Court records show that in March 2017, PERCELL sold seven grams of fentanyl, which he represented to be heroin, to an informant working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sanford Police Department.
“Our state and local law enforcement partners are working hand in hand with federal prosecutors and agents to improve public safety in Sanford and Lee County," said U.S. Attorney Martin. “We will continue working together to implement data-driven Project Safe Neighborhood strategies to reduce violent crime by focusing on gun violators and other criminals in the area."
Today’s sentencing is the most recent event in a series of cases resulting from a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement intended to reduce violent and gun-related crime in Sanford and Lee County. At least 12 defendants from the area, including LEO PERCELL, have been sentenced for firearm or drug offenses in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in 2019. Several others have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced before the end of the year. The cases from Sanford/Lee County which have been or are set for sentencing include the following:
• Jamar Lacobly Alston, 32, of Broadway, NC - pleaded guilty 8/1/19 to felon in possession of ammunition; sentencing scheduled for 11/7/19;
• Joshua Tajhai Brewington, 25, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 8/8/19 to felon in possession of a firearm; sentencing scheduled for 10/28/19;
• Christopher Clamon Bridges, 31, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 10/5/18 to felon in possession of ammunition; sentenced 1/29/19 to 18 months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release;
• Robert Bernard Fox, II, 19, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 7/8/19 to receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment; sentenced 9/27/19 to 20 months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release;
• Jimanda Dwayne Gibbs, 43, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 8/16/19 to felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced 8/16/19 to 30 months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release;
• Maurice Danjuan Gill, 44, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 3/7/19 to distribution of cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; sentenced 6/21/19 to 117 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release;
• Randy Ross Hunter, 41, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 3/7/19 to felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced 6/21/19 to 180 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release;
• Travon Emmanuel Jones, 28, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 10/5/18 to possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; sentenced 4/25/19 to 75 months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release;
• Dennis Minter, 36, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 3/7/19 to distribution of cocaine base; sentenced 6/20/19 to 182 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release;
• Everette Lee Petty, 55, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 8/20/19 to possession of cocaine base; sentenced 9/6/19 to 120 months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release;
• Tiyon Nathan Turner, 22, of Sanford -- pleaded guilty 8/9/18 to felon in possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana; sentenced 2/11/19 to 130 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release.
An additional defendant, DONTEZ LEVERT PERCELL, 28, of Sanford, was indicted April 29, 2019, on one count of distribution of heroin. That charge is still pending, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by admissible evidence in a court of law.
Each of these cases was investigated by one or more of these agencies: the Sanford Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rob A.J. Lang, Tanner L. Kroeger, Anand P. Ramaswamy, JoAnna M. McFadden, and Nicole R. DuPré of the Middle District of North Carolina.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
