Armed Fentanyl Trafficker Caught in Nash County Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

RALEIGH, N.C. – Anthony Cyquan Herring, 40, was sentenced to 240 months in prison for possessing fentanyl and other drugs for distribution, while armed with a loaded handgun. Herring’s sentence comes after an Elizabeth City, NC, jury found him guilty of all charges in March of this year.

“This career criminal was running dangerous drugs through North Carolina with his children and a loaded gun in the car,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Now, he will spend the next two decades behind bars.”

“Nash County appreciates the diligence of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in prosecuting this case,” said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.  “This was an opportunity to apprehend a dangerous drug trafficker before he could distribute his deadly poison into the hands of children and families. Fentanyl is the main factor for overdose deaths in the community and we will not stop our fight to interdict these narcotics before they reach the citizens of Nash County. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office is committed to removing gangs, illegal guns, and drugs from our communities through our partnerships with federal law enforcement." 

The case started when Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone stopped an SUV for speeding along I-95. The car was being driven by Herring and smelled like marijuana. An ensuing search revealed a loaded handgun within reach of Herring. In Herring’s luggage, Deputies found thirty-six grams of heroin and fentanyl, fifty grams of cocaine, marijuana, $2,200 in cash, and materials for packaging and distributing drugs.

Herring claimed he was driving to the beach for a vacation. But deputies discovered Herring’s two young children in the back of the SUV, sleeping and urinating in bottles as their dad drove through the night from Connecticut on the way to South Carolina.

Herring was sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal because he had at least three prior convictions for drug trafficking crimes.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons and former Assistant U.S. Attorney J.D. Koesters prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:20-cr-00347-BO-1.

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