Armed Fentanyl And Methamphetamine Trafficker Is Sentenced To Over 24 Years In Prison

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Kyle Heath Clark, 38, of Candler, N.C., was sentenced today to 295 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for drug and gun charges, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to court documents and court proceedings, between June 2023 to February 2024, Clark trafficked fentanyl and methamphetamine in Buncombe County and surrounding areas. During the investigation, law enforcement seized from Clark’s vehicles, his storage unit, his hotel room, and from his person 11 total firearms, including an AR-type rifle, ammunition, over 64 grams of fentanyl and 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, digital scales, drug paraphernalia, and over $25,900 in cash. Clark has multiple prior felony convictions, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On February 10, 2025, Clark pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending placement by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina,  the Asheville Police Department, the Waynesville Police Department, the Cherokee Indian Police Department, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).