another drug dealer sentenced in operation no quarter
Greenville - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard sentenced an additional defendant in a large drug trafficking conspiracy. DANTE JAMERUS BRIGHT, 25, of Grifton, North Carolina received 240 months imprisonment followed by 5 years supervised release.
A Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment on May 10, 2011, charging BRIGHT with violations of federal narcotics and firearm laws. BRIGHT entered a guilty plea on April 5, 2012, to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine and 500 grams or more of cocaine and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to evidence presented in Court, on November 1, 2010, BRIGHT and co-defendant ERIC PASCAL JACKSON, robbed BRIGHT’S cocaine supplier of 85 grams of cocaine in Lenoir County. During the robbery, JACKSON assaulted the cocaine supplier by hitting the supplier in the head with a hammer. The supplier and BRIGHT then exchanged gunfire. BRIGHT and JACKSON received minor gunshot wounds. BRIGHT’S firearm was recovered at the scene. Upon further investigation, it was learned that BRIGHT is responsible for selling over 1.4 kilograms of crack cocaine and 4.3 kilograms of cocaine.
JACKSON was sentenced to 192 months imprisonment followed by 5 years supervised release by Judge Howard on April 10, 2012.
OCDETF Operation “No Quarter” was designed to attack the infrastructure of the Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO), including those of the Los Zetas, La Familia, Gulf and Sinaloa drug cartels, operating not only in the Eastern District of North Carolina, but throughout North Carolina, the United States and Mexico. These DTO’s are responsible for the importation of large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine into the United States, as well as the related remittance of illegal drug proceeds back into Mexico.
The investigation spanned 10 years and 5 North Carolina counties. As part of the investigation, over 90 individuals have been charged by indictment or criminal information in the Eastern District of North Carolina and state courts. In addition, $1.5 million in U.S. Currency, 127 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $3.8 million dollars, 41 pounds of crystal methamphetamine with a street value of $650,000, 160 lbs. of marijuana with a street value of $170,000, 32 grams of heroin, 35 firearms and 35 real properties valued at $1.5 million were seized by law enforcement authorities.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration - Raleigh and Greensboro Resident Offices, the New York Field Division and numerous other DEA offices in the United States and Mexico; the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – Raleigh and Wilmington offices; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Raleigh and Tampa, Florida offices; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the North Carolina National Guard; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Greenville Police Department; the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office; the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office; the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office; the Kinston Police Department; the Craven County Sheriff’s Office; the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office; the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office; the New Bern Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office; the Person County Sheriff’s Office; the Farmville Police Department; the Goldsboro Police Department; the Rocky Mount Police Department; the Burlington Police Department, the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wilson Police Department.
The federal prosecutions were handled by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Glenn Perry and Augustus Willis, IV. Mr. Perry is a prosecutor with the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Willis is a prosecutor with the Craven, Carteret and Pamlico Counties District Attorney’s Office. District Attorneys Clark Everett and Scott Thomas have assigned Mr. Perry and Mr. Willis to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters. Their assignments to the United States Attorney’s Office have been made possible by grants funded by the Governor’s Crime Commission.
