Kyle Heath Clark, 38, of Candler, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 295 months in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to drug and gun charges. The sentence was announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Clark trafficked fentanyl and methamphetamine in Buncombe County and surrounding areas between June 2023 and February 2024. During the investigation, law enforcement seized 11 firearms—including an AR-type rifle—ammunition, more than 64 grams of fentanyl, 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, digital scales, drug paraphernalia, and over $25,900 in cash from Clark’s vehicles, storage unit, hotel room, and person. As a convicted felon with multiple prior convictions, Clark is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
On February 10, 2025, Clark pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in custody awaiting placement by the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Russ Ferguson thanked several agencies for their work on the case: “the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina the Asheville Police Department, the Waynesville Police Department, the Cherokee Indian Police Department, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office...”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess prosecuted the case.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative that uses resources from various Department of Justice programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) to combat illegal immigration-related crime and target transnational criminal organizations.
