Four individuals have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in distributing thousands of fentanyl-laced pills in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Ezekiel Lee Suber, 26, from Forest City, received a sentence of 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Darien Akiel Brown, 24, also from Forest City, was sentenced to 72 months in prison and four years of supervised release. Elija McDowell, 22, from Charlotte will serve 57 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Jocelyn Marie Hamilton, 26, from Charleston, West Virginia received five years of probation.
Court documents indicate that between 2023 and 2024 the group operated as a drug trafficking conspiracy led by Suber. Undercover law enforcement officers purchased fentanyl-laced pills from the defendants during the investigation. The pills were yellow with a “T-189” imprint resembling those found on Oxycodone Hydrochloride tablets. Law enforcement observed Suber armed with a firearm during some transactions.
On February 27, 2024, Suber was arrested at his residence in Charlotte. Authorities seized two loaded firearms, two loaded magazines, multiple rounds of ammunition and more than $4,200 in cash during a search of his home. In total over the course of the investigation law enforcement bought more than 7,000 fentanyl-laced pills containing over one kilogram of fentanyl from the group.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson stated: "In making the announcement U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case."
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington.
