Henderson County Methamphetamine Distributor Is Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Brandon Lee Nalley, 48, of Hendersonville, N.C., to 168 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between July 2021 and December 2021, federal, state, and local law enforcement conducting an investigation into methamphetamine trafficking networks in western North Carolina identified Nalley as a supplier of methamphetamine in Henderson County. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement utilized a confidential source to arrange multiple controlled buys of methamphetamine from Nalley. On December 22, 2021, deputies with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of Nalley’s vehicle. Over the course of the stop, the deputies found a duffel bag inside the vehicle that contained methamphetamine, a loaded handgun with an extended magazine, and an additional magazine loaded with seven rounds of hollow point ammunition.

On April 26, 2023, Nalley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine, and distribution of 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King credited an investigation led by the Western District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and thanked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, the Swain County Sheriff's Office, the Waynesville Police Department, the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, the Canton Police Department, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the Maggie Valley Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their investigative efforts.

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