A Wake Forest man, Michael Anthony Weidner, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for distributing fentanyl in Raleigh. Weidner pled guilty on September 23, 2024, to two counts of distributing a quantity of fentanyl.

Court documents revealed that from October 2022 through April 2024, Weidner sold cocaine and fentanyl and Adderall pills. In November 2022, he was found intoxicated and asleep in a car with a loaded AR-15 style firearm beside him. When approached by a Wake County Sheriff's Deputy, Weidner reached for the weapon and was subsequently taken into custody. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF focuses on identifying and dismantling high-level drug traffickers and criminal organizations using a collaborative approach involving multiple law enforcement agencies.

Michael F. Easley Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the sentencing after it was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Raleigh Police Department, and Wake County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Loeser prosecuting the case.