Wilmington Drug Dealer Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 05, 2009 |
RALEIGH, NC—United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court yesterday United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced WALTER JAMES BROWN, JR., 34, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to 300 months’ imprisonment followed by five years' supervised release.
On December 30, 2008, a Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment. On February 23, 2009, BROWN pled guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute more than five grams of crack cocaine.
On November 14, 2008, New Hanover County detectives stopped BROWN at the intersection of 7th and Wooster Street in Wilmington, while he was attempting to deliver crack cocaine. The investigation revealed that BROWN was responsible for distributing multiple kilograms of cocaine into Eastern North Carolina.
This case was brought as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation entitled Don Quixote, investigating importers and multi-level distributors of cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin in Eastern North Carolina. To date, 15 people have pled guilty and been sentenced in federal court.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Street Division; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the North Carolina Highway Patrol; the New Hanover Sheriff’s Department; the Wilmington Police Department; the Pender County Sheriff’s Department; the Duplin County Sheriff’s Department; the Holly Ridge Police Department; the Surf City Police Department; and the Top Sail Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Severo represented the government. Mr Severo is a prosecutor with the New Hanover District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Ben David has assigned him to the United States Attorney’s office to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters. This has been made possible by a grant funded by the Governor’s Crime Commission and the New Hanover County Commissioners.