Wilmington Armed Drug Trafficker Receives 117 Months in Federal Prison

RALEIGH, N.C. – Jonathan Marquis Sanders, 29, of Wilmington, was sentenced yesterday to 117 months in prison for Distribution of a Quantity of a Mixture of Heroin and Fentanyl, Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Heroin, Fentanyl and Cocaine and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

According to court documents, evidence presented in court and other documents, on August 21, 2020, the Wilmington Police Department made a controlled purchase of 200 bags of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl from Sanders on Davie Avenue in Wilmington.  Sanders was on a GPS monitor related to a New Hanover County Court matter at the time of this drug deal.  On October 1, 2020, Wilmington Police Narcotics Detectives executed a search warrant at Hearthside Drive in Wilmington.  Law enforcement found more than 850 bags of a heroin/fentanyl mixture, a quantity of cocaine, a cutting agent, and a loaded .380 caliber handgun.  Sanders used the residence as a stash house.  Sanders was on probation for Possession with the Intent to Sell or Deliver Heroin at the time of the search of the residence.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Holly Ridge Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Wilmington Police Department  investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-cr-00179-BO-1.

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