Wilmington Man Sentenced to More than 14 Years for Illegally Possessing with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base (Crack) and Felon in Possession of a Firearm

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that in federal court, Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced ANTONIO DEVON WILLIAMS, 42, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to 120 months’ imprisonment, plus an additional 51 months for violating his original term of supervised release for a total of 171 months.  WILLIAMS will then serve a term of 5 years of supervised released upon his release from prison.

On January 15, 2019, WILLIAMS was named in a seven-count Indictment, and on June 3, 2019, WILLIAMS pled guilty to two of those counts:  Possession with the Intent to Distribute Twenty-Eight (28) Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack), and a Quantity of Heroin; and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.  

In March 2018, Wilmington Police Department (WPD) received information that WILLIAMS was selling narcotics in the Wilmington area.  WPD made three controlled purchases of narcotics from WILLIAMS on August 20, October 17, and October 24, 2018.  A search warrant was subsequently obtained and executed at WILLIAMS’ residence and two vehicles on October 26, 2018.  The search resulted in the seizure of more than 300 grams of marijuana, over 200 bindles of a heroin/fentanyl mixture, nearly 200 grams of crack cocaine, over $7,000 in U.S. currency, a 9mm firearm, and drug paraphernalia. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. 

That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices in those communities on a sustained basis to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.  For more information about this initiative click here:  https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc. 

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Wilmington Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Bryan M. Stephany prosecuted the case for the government.