WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Sampson County man was sentenced Wednesday to 106 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On October 19, 2021, Javaun Delano Jaleel Johnson of Clinton pled guilty to the charges.
According to court documents and other information presented in federal court, Johnson, age 30, was stopped on September 2, 2020 at a checkpoint in Clinton. Johnson did not have a valid driver’s license. Upon searching Johnson’s car, officers recovered marijuana, methamphetamine, $5,000 in cash, a scale, and a .45 caliber handgun. A few months later, in January of 2021, after another traffic stop, Johnson was found in possession of more methamphetamine, and a loaded .380. caliber firearm.
At sentencing a judge denied the defendant’s request for a departure from the sentencing guidelines, citing Johnson’s multiple firearm possession events. At the time of the offense, Johnson had previously been convicted on a state charge for being a felon in possession of a different firearm than those involved in the federal case.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Clinton Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William M. Gilmore and Evan Rikhye prosecuted the case.
