Jason Travis Shook, a 42-year-old resident of Conover, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for drug and gun charges. The announcement was made by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The case involved cooperation between several law enforcement agencies. Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, and Sheriff Donald G. Brown II of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office joined U.S. Attorney King in announcing the sentence.
Court documents reveal that in August 2022, officers from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office discovered Shook's involvement in distributing large quantities of methamphetamine locally. Surveillance was conducted on his property and vehicle—a black Chevrolet Suburban with a white boat attached—leading to a traffic stop attempt on August 25, 2022. Shook fled from law enforcement during this attempt but was eventually apprehended after crashing his vehicle into a wooded area and attempting to escape on foot by jumping into Lake Hickory.
Upon arresting Shook, authorities recovered a backpack from his vehicle containing significant amounts of methamphetamine, cash totaling $24,707, digital scales, drug paraphernalia, and two unspent shotgun shells. A Ruger SR40C semi-automatic pistol was also found along his flight path with ammunition present.
Shook pleaded guilty on August 8, 2024, to charges including possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon due to previous felony convictions for Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury and Second-Degree Kidnapping.
U.S. Attorney King expressed gratitude towards the DEA and Catawba County Sheriff's Office for their efforts in investigating this case. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick J. Miller, Brandon Boykin, and Regina Pack from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Shook will remain under federal custody until he is transferred to a designated federal facility managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
