Wilson Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Crack

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan, sentenced MICHAEL EUGENE BLAKENEY, 29 from Wilson, North Carolina, to 37 months in prison, followed by 6  years of supervised release.  Additionally, as the defendant had his supervised release revoked he was sentenced to 30 months custody.

BLAKENY was named in a 6-count Indictment filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina on November 29, 2017.  On May 15, 2018, pursuant to a written Plea Agreement, BLAKENEY pled guilty to Distribution of a Quantity of Cocaine Base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1).   

Investigation was initiated by the Wilson Police Department (WPD) in Wilson, North Carolina, as part of an on-going investigation into drug trafficking in Wilson, North Carolina. Officers of the Wilson Police Department received information that BLAKENEY was involved in the distribution of cocaine base in the Wilson area.  At the time of the investigation, BLAKENEY was under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina due to a prior federal conviction for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession With Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base.  Following his arrest on September 8, 2017, BLAKENEY provided a statement to agents reporting that he had been selling crack cocaine between May and August of 2017.   

The case is a federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) criminal matter investigated by the Wilson Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).  Assistant United States Attorney Edward Gray prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.