Zachery Micah Rice, a 35-year-old resident of Asheville, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 342 months in prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation. This announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to his prison sentence, Rice will also serve five years of supervised release.
Court records reveal that between 2021 and 2023, Rice was a significant distributor of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine across Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. He acquired these drugs from an Atlanta supplier and distributed them throughout Western North Carolina via a local network. During one incident, law enforcement intercepted Rice's vehicle and confiscated over 11.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, a .40 caliber pistol modified with a "Glock switch," and more than $32,683 in cash. Subsequent searches at locations associated with Rice uncovered large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, firearms with high-capacity magazines, ammunition, digital scales, drug paraphernalia for distribution purposes, and over $27,470.
Rice entered a guilty plea on October 18, 2024. His charges included conspiracy to possess methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of a firearm by a felon; and possession of a machinegun.
Currently held by the U.S. Marshals Service pending placement by the federal Bureau of Prisons, Rice's case involved multiple law enforcement agencies. U.S. Attorney Ferguson acknowledged the efforts of several agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Bureau of Indian Affairs; various sheriff's offices across North Carolina and South Carolina; as well as police departments from Asheville to Cherokee Indian Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess led the prosecution in this case which is part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative aiming to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels along with transnational criminal organizations through resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
