New Bern Man Sentenced To 11 Years For Heroin Distribution And Firearm Offense

GREENVILLE – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that in federal court today, Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard sentenced JAMES WALTON WILLIAMS, 32, of New Bern, North Carolina, to 132 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release. 

WILLIAMS was named in an Indictment filed on November 9, 2015.  On March 7, 2016, WILLIAMS pled guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Heroin and one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

In June 2014, investigators with the Coastal Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) in Craven County, North Carolina, received information that WILLIAMS had traveled to New Jersey and obtained heroin for distribution.  On June 18, 2014, CNET

Investigators conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in Craven County being driven by WILLIAMS.  After a canine alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, a subsequent search revealed a baggie containing an unspecified quantity of cocaine, half of a pill, a pill bottle containing six unknown pills, a cut straw with a powdery residue, and a burnt spoon.

Following his arrest, WILLIAMS agreed to take investigators to where the heroin was hidden. WILLIAMS led investigators to several locations including his house and a storage unit where heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine were located, as well as one stolen, loaded revolver.  WILLIAMS also admitted selling heroin off and on for about two years.

     The investigation revealed that from 2011 to August 2014, WILLIAMS was accountable for the possession of at least 699.8 grams of heroin, 4.08 grams of methamphetamine, and .9 gram of cocaine.  WILLIAMS is also responsible for possessing a firearm in connection with his drug activities.

     Investigation of this case was conducted by the Coastal Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET).  CNET is a multi-agency narcotics unit based in Craven County that functions under the direction and control of the Chief Executives.  CNET is comprised of sworn law enforcement detectives from the New Bern Police Department, Craven County Sheriff’s Office, Carteret County Sheriff’s Office, Jones County Sheriff’s Office, Havelock Police Department, Trent Woods Police Department, Bridgeton Police Department, River Bend Police Department, and the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office.  This investigation was also assisted by the Wilmington office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; District Attorney Scott Thomas; and Pamlico County Sheriff Chris Davis.  Assistant United States Attorney Scott Lemmon represented the government.

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