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Press Release

THREE FACE FEDERAL CHARGES IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY FOR COCAINE DISTRIBUTION CONSPIRACY

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announces that a federal grand jury in Raleigh returned a four count indictment (attached) charging three defendants with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

The following people were indicted and arrested in December 2015.  They are detained by order of a federal judge.

  • Genesis Lee Whitted, Jr., aka “Gen” and “Juice Man”, 26, of Fayetteville, NC

  • Wayne Desmond Whitted, aka “Weezy”, 24, of Fayetteville, NC

  • Joel Michael McLaurin, Jr., aka “Knowledge,” 29, of Fayetteville, NC
     

Genesis Lee Whitted, Jr. was also charged with Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime and Brandishing a Firearm During and In Relation To a Drug Trafficking Crime.

If convicted, the maximum penalties for the charged drug count are twenty years’ imprisonment, a $1 million fine, and a term of supervised release of not less than 3 years following any term of imprisonment. 

The maximum penalties for Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime are no less than 5 years, up to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence; a $250,000 fine; and up to 3 years supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  The maximum penalties for Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime are no less than seven years, up to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence; a $250,000 fine; and up to 3 years supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  A second or subsequent conviction for a firearms charge of this type carries a mandatory minimum term of twenty five years imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence. 

  The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations.  The defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD).

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News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release

 

Updated January 12, 2016

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