DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

 

United States Attorney
Gretchen C. F. Shappert
Western District of North Carolina

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009

CONTACT: Suellen Pierce
704.338.3120
Fax: 704.227.0264

FIVE SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT ON “CRACK” COCAINE AND FIREARMS VIOLATIONS Western North Carolinians Sentenced to a Total of More Than 35 Years in Federal Prison ASHEVILLE, NC –Four individuals from Burke and McDowell Counties, and one man from Virginia, charged in U.S. District Court in 2008 with “crack” cocaine conspiracy and firearms violations have all been sentenced to terms of federal imprisonment. The offenses charged in the federal bill of indictment included conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of cocaine base, commonly known as “crack” cocaine, from January to July 2007 in McDowell County. The convictions on which the sentences were handed down were the result of guilty pleas previously entered before the court. U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg, for the Western District of North Carolina, handed down the sentences.

EDWARD BLAINE MINTZ, 38, Valdese, NC - 101 months (8+ years), followed by four years of supervised release
JUSTIN LEE MOSTELLER, 22, Winchester, VA - 157 months (13+ years), followed by four years of supervised release
RUSSELL LEE MOSTELLER, 32, Marion, NC - 168 months (14+ years), followed by four years of supervised release
RANDY THOMAS MULLINS, 34, Nebo, NC - 117 months (9+ years), followed by four years of supervised release
ANGELA MARIE PROFFITT, 42, Morganton, NC - 41 months (3+ years), followed by four years of supervised release

Federal terms of imprisonment are served without the possibility of parole. According to official court documents, Defendants Edward Blaine Mintz, Randy Thomas Mullins, and Justin Lee Mosteller were each charged with federal firearms violations in addition to the “crack” cocaine distribution charge. The indictment also contained a notice of forfeiture which specified that the grand jury found probable cause to believe that certain amounts of money ($4194.51) seized from one or more of the defendants during the course of the investigation, along with a 1990 Cadillac Deville, should be forfeited to the government. On January 28, 2009, the court filed a consent order and judgment of forfeiture in the case where the parties agreed and the court ordered that certain properties were derived from or traceable to proceeds of the drug conspiracy and were, therefore, forfeited to the United States. Those properties include:

6 Winchester-Western 9 mm rounds
42 Winchester-Western .380 caliber rounds
15 Winchester-Western .25 caliber rounds
Mossberg 500A Shotgun, 12 gauge
Maverick Arms 88 Shotgun, 12 gauge
Mossberg 88 Shotgun, 12 gauge
New England Firearms Pardner Shotgun, 20 gauge
Savage 94F Shotgun, 16 gauge
Savage 94 Shotgun, 12 gauge
Two Remington Arms Company, Inc. Sportsman 58 Shotguns, 12 gauge
Keystone Sporting Arms Rifle, .22 caliber
Two 116MKI Rifles, .22 caliber
Rifle, .762. Caliber
Rifle, unknown mfr.,/unknown caliber
Davis Industries P380 Pistol, .380 caliber
Browning BD380 Pistol, .380
Maadi Company Pistol, 9 mm
Ruger P89 Pistol, 9 mm
Hipoint 995 Rifle, 9mm
Winchester 1300 Shotgun, 12 gauge

The Federal Asset Forfeiture Program is a nationwide law enforcement initiative that removes the tools of crime from criminal organizations, such as removing (or seizing) firearms from participants in drug organizations. Often the proceeds from forfeited property or the property itself is shared with state and local law enforcement agencies responsible for primary roles in investigations leading up to the seizure activity. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across Western North Carolina are encouraged to investigate criminal cases with a view to discovering, for the purpose of forfeiture, criminal assets.

The investigation of this McDowell/Burke County drug conspiracy was handled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the NC State Bureau of Investigation, the McDowell and Burke County Sheriffs’ Offices, and the Marion Police Department, with support also provided by DEA. The case was handled for the government by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill W. Rose.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina was number two in the country in forfeiture of funds and assets for fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008). The Unit was number one in the country for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. Forfeitures totaled more than $16,481,589, and were related to federal prosecutions of fraud, drug organizations, bank robbery, and other crimes for the past fiscal year, and more than $25mm in the first quarter of 2009, alone. For more information on the Federal Asset Forfeiture Program, visit http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/afp/07federalforfeiture/index.htm .