Head of Drug Trafficking Organization Is Sentenced To Prison

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The head of a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing multiple kilograms of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs in the Charlotte area was sentenced today to 17 years in prison, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Upon his release from prison, Laricco Eugene Sherrill, Sr., 45, of Charlotte, will be subject to five years of supervised release.

Alicia Jones, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

In addition to Sherrill, Sr., six other members of the drug trafficking organization (DTO) have been sentenced as follows:

• Jakieran Harris, 27, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 108 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Laricco Eugene Sherrill, Jr., 24, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 84 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
• Marquez Maxwell, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 54 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Quentin Nathaniel Stowe, 29, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Brian Clinton, 25, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Sadarian Armstrong, 42, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents and court proceedings, beginning as early as January 2020 through August 17, 2021, Sherrill, Sr. was the leader of the DTO that distributed large quantities of narcotics in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. Court records show that the DTO used several residences in Charlotte, commonly referred to as “trap houses,” as bases of operation from which they sold the drugs. Young children were regularly present in these trap houses while DTO members sold drugs. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement executed multiple search warrants and seized from DTO members and the trap houses fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana, drug paraphernalia, digital scales, several firearms and ammunition, and over $63,650 in drug proceeds.

As the leader of the DTO, Sherrill, Sr. purchased large quantities of methamphetamine and other narcotics from multiple supply sources. He stored the drugs in several residences, or stash houses, in the area, and used a network of local distributors, including the six co-conspirators, to sell the drugs. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement arranged multiple controlled drug buys with Sherrill, Sr. and co-conspirators working for him. Before the investigation leading to this case, Sherrill, Sr. had previously served a federal prison sentence for trafficking drugs while armed in the Western District of North Carolina.

On April 11, 2023, Sherrill, Sr. pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine.

“As head honcho of a drug trafficking organization, Sherrill, Sr. sold drugs, unfazed by the havoc he was wreaking in the lives of those who bought his poison,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Drug trafficking and the violence linked to the drug trade are a blight that threatens the stability and safety of our communities. Thanks to the joint efforts of my Office and our law enforcement partners, Sherrill, Sr. will now spend nearly two decades behind bars.”

“Disrupting violent drug trafficking organizations has an enormous impact on the safety of our cities,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jones. “In the process of breaking up these drug trafficking networks, we’re recovering firearms, bringing dangerous individuals to justice, and making our neighborhoods safer.”

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King credited the ATF and CMPD’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.