GREENSBORO, N.C. - On Wednesday Nov. 20, 2019, a jury in federal court found a Greensboro resident guilty on three felony charges, announced United States Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin of the Middle District of North Carolina.
Following a three day trial in Greensboro, the jury found CLYDE OTIS ALSTON, JR., age 25, guilty of possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing heroin, fentanyl, and 4-Anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (4-ANPP), possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and knowingly possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a felony offense.
“The national epidemic of opioid abuse continues to take hundreds of lives each day. Fentanyl is especially deadly: as little as two milligrams of fentanyl, an amount equal to two grains of sand, can kill a person, yet drug trafficking organizations continue to mix fentanyl with other drugs to increase potency and profit," said United States Attorney Martin. “We will not, we cannot, rest in our efforts to stop these poisons from continuing to ruin people’s lives."
Evidence presented at trial showed that on Jan. 11, 2019, at approximately 9:30 a.m., officers from the Greensboro Police Department attempted to stop a gray Ford truck being operated by ALSTON on Flag Street near Sussmans Street in Greensboro. When a GPD officer tried to block the road in an attempt to stop ALSTON, he swerved, striking the officer’s vehicle and also sideswiping another vehicle parked on the south side of Flag Street. ALSTON continued on Flag Street toward Sussmans Street, where he drove through a park and out onto O’Connor Street. ALSTON then turned into a parking lot on O’Connor Street and exited the vehicle on foot while the truck was still in motion. The truck then struck two trees while ALSTON began running away from officers on foot. A GPD officer was able to stop the truck and put it in park, and when doing so observed a Glock model 22,.40 caliber handgun and a 50 round drum magazine lying in plain view on the passenger side floorboard, and, in the center console area of the truck, a bag containing approximately 21.91 grams of a mixture containing heroin, Fentanyl, and 4-ANPP.
A review by officers of ALSTON’s publically-available Instagram account resulted in discovery of a video of a person who appears to be ALSTON, dated Dec. 31, 2018, holding a semi-automatic handgun with a silver slide over a black frame. The gun in the video also had a high capacity drum style magazine attached with visible ammunition and what appeared to be a laser assisted sighting system on the trigger guard, much like the firearm and magazine he was arrested with eleven days later.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., in Greensboro, before United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. With regard to the drug offense, ALSTON faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and a term of not less than three years of supervised release. For possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, ALSTON faces a minimum sentence of five years, and up to life, consecutive to any other sentence, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and not more than five years of supervised release. And finally, for being a felon in knowing possession of a firearm, ALSTON faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and not more than three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Greensboro Police Department, NC Department of Probation and Parole, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Veronica L. Edmisten and Clifton T. Barrett.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
