Six Members Of Drug Distribution Ring Are Sentenced To Prison

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Six members of a poly-drug trafficking ring have been sentenced to prison, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Bennie Mims, 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.

“The six defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization that distributed deadly drugs like fentanyl throughout Charlotte,” said U.S. Attorney King. “In keeping with our efforts to protect the community, we will continue to partner with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute trafficking networks that spread drugs and drug-induced violence in our community.”

“Drug trafficking often has a direct link to violent crime,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Mims. “When we can stop a major trafficking network and disrupt the flow of drugs into our communities, we have a better chance of decreasing violent crime and keeping our streets safe.” 

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced the six defendants 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., 23, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 84 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
• Marquez Maxwell, 27, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 54 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Quentin Nathaniel Stowe, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Brian Clinton, 24, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Sadarian Armstrong, 41, 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 March 2022, the six men were members of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed 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. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement 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.

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.