Press Release
Highest-Ranking Member of Brunswick County Bloods Gang Sentenced to More Than 29 Years for Drug Distribution
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. – Tabor City Bloods leader Nicholas Shamar Griffin was sentenced today to 350 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine and 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base (Crack), and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine and Aiding and Abetting. According to court documents, Griffin, 40, pled guilty to the charges on February 21, 2020. In 2017 and 2018, investigators determined that the Defendant was a significant supplier of controlled substances in Brunswick County. The investigation also showed that Griffin was the highest-ranking member of the Bloods street gang in Brunswick County. On July 31, 2018, members of the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle operated by Griffin. Officers approached the vehicle, and Griffin appeared nervous and fumbled with his wallet. The two passengers in the vehicle also appeared nervous and appeared to be concealing something. All three passengers were asked to exit the vehicle. As one of the passengers exited the vehicle, he dropped two baggies containing 55.86 grams of cocaine on the ground and kicked the bags behind the rear tire of the vehicle. Griffin later admitted to officers that the cocaine was his. Two months later, on September 28, 2018, Griffin got into gang-related argument with a victim. As the victim walked away, Griffin shot the victim in the back. Griffin then fled to South Carolina to hide from law enforcement. On November 29, 2018, Griffin was arrested in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets. That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. For more information about this initiative click here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc. Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted the case. A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:18-cr-00174-D. ### The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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Updated July 15, 2020
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component