RALEIGH - The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced DAVID ANDREW KIRTON, JR. 25, of Wilmington, North Carolina to 100 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release and a consecutive sentence of 24 months for a supervised release violation. The total active sentence imposed was 124 months, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
On May 1, 2018, KIRTON entered a plea of guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin. KIRTON admitted a supervised release violation for a prior federal conviction for Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute more than five grams of cocaine base and a quantity of heroin at the time of his sentencing.
A joint investigation between the Wilmington Police Department Gang Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force revealed that between October 2016 and April 2017, KIRTON, and others were responsible for the distribution of significant amounts of heroin in the Wilmington area. During this period of time, several undercover purchases of heroin were made from KIRTON at the direction of law enforcement. These occurred while KIRTON was on federal supervised release for a previous conviction for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute cocaine base (crack) and heroin.
This case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.
This investigation was conducted by the Wilmington Police Department Gang Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Severo handled the prosecution of this case for the government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
