Violent Armed Drug Dealer from Fayetteville Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison

NEW BERN, N.C. – Kendale Tyrone Strange, 45, of Cumberland County, was sentenced to 86 months in prison today for possessing a firearm as a felon. The gun that Strange illegally possessed was previously used in a violent assault.

On February 27, 2020, the Fayetteville Police Department received a report of a shooting at a McDonald’s parking lot. Upon further investigation, Strange was identified striking another person in the head with a handgun. The handgun went off and the resulting spent shell casing was collected as evidence.

A parallel drug investigation showed consistent drug trafficking activity at Strange’s house on School Street in Fayetteville. On March 18, 2020, a search warrant was executed. During the search warrant, a handgun was recovered from the trunk of Strange’s car. Ballistic analysis showed that the handgun in the trunk of the car was the same handgun used during the assault in the McDonald’s parking lot.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Fayetteville Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Lemons and Nicholas Hartigan 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-00217-FL-4.