Another Sentenced for Participation in Drug Conspiracy in Halifax

WILMINGTON—United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court on November 12, 2009, Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox sentenced KENYATTA SYKES, 30, of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, to 240 months' imprisonment for his participation in a drug conspiracy operating in and around Halifax County.

SYKES has been in federal custody since his arrest on January 9, 2009, after fleeing from law enforcement officers and leading them on a high-speed chase on Highway 48 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. SYKES was eventually apprehended later that evening in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

According to the investigation, SYKES was accountable for obtaining and/or distributing 3,814.9 grams of crack cocaine and more than five kilograms of powder cocaine, possessing a firearm during the conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and reckless endangerment during flight. The investigation included multiple drug-buys from SYKES during which SYKES was captured on video distributing crack cocaine. Also, in December 2008, investigators seized $5,660.00 in U.S. Currency from SYKES at a traffic stop in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, after a drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

This case is part of Operation Burnout, an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, and Nash County Sheriff’s Office, targeting multi-level distributors of cocaine,“crack”cocaine,” and marijuana in and around Halifax County and Nash County. To date, 23 drug traffickers have been arrested on federal drug charges as part of this investigation.

Mr. Holding commented, “The work and dedication of the agencies involved in this investigation is exemplary, and has resulted in the removal of a dangerous drug trafficker from the Halifax County community for a long time. We are grateful for their hard work.”

Assistant United States Attorney Josh Royster served as the prosecutor for the government.