Les Corey Peak, 38, from Flat Rock, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Court records indicate that between 2021 and 2023, while incarcerated in the Georgia Department of Corrections, Peak used contraband phones to coordinate with an Atlanta-based supplier and arranged bulk drug purchases. He worked with Zachery Micah Rice and others to facilitate the distribution of drugs in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties as well as other areas. Rice handled pickups and transported the drugs back to Western North Carolina for local distribution.
During one transaction arranged by Peak, law enforcement stopped Rice’s vehicle and seized over 11.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, a .40 caliber pistol modified with a machinegun conversion device known as a “Glock switch,” and more than $32,683 in cash. Further searches at locations linked to Rice resulted in the recovery of kilogram quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine supplied by the Atlanta source, multiple firearms including high-capacity magazines ammunition, digital scales, drug paraphernalia associated with drug distribution activities, and more than $27,470.
Peak pleaded guilty on June 23, 2025 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He remains in federal custody awaiting placement at a facility designated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Rice was sentenced in May 2025 to more than 28 years in prison for his part in the conspiracy.
Russ Ferguson expressed appreciation for several agencies involved in investigating this case: “In making today’s announcement,” he said, “U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked 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, the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office,the Clay County Sheriff’s Office,and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina for their investigation ofthe case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess prosecuted this case.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative led by the Department of Justice focused on combating illegal immigration and eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime.
