A 35 year-old man learned Tuesday he will spend the next 160 months in a federal prison followed by 5 years of supervised release. United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Michael Jermaine Jackson of Spring Hope 35, of Spring Hope during a session of federal court in New Bern.
Jackson was named in a four-count Indictment filed on April 4, 2019, charging him with possession with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distributing a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On October 15, 2019, Jackson pled guilty to that charge.
According to the investigation, in September 2018, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) began an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Jackson. A confidential informant provided information that Jackson was selling narcotics, including heroin, from his residence on Wiley Road in Spring Hope. After a series of controlled purchases of heroin and crack cocaine from Jackson at his residence, FCSO executed a search warrant at his residence where they found quantities of heroin containing fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana, drug distribution paraphernalia, a firearm, and ammunition.
According to a statement from United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr., Jackson had just been released from a state prison sentence six months prior to the execution of the search warrant.
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.
The investigation of this matter was conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case for the government.
