South Carolina Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years On Drug Charges

ASHEVILLE, N.C. –U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Cody Wayne Thomas, 25, of Cowpens, S.C., to 135 months in prison on federal drug charges, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Thomas was also ordered to serve five years under court supervision following his prison term.  

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on October 20, 2015, an officer with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office observed Thomas’s vehicle parked in the parking lot of a convenience store.  Court records show that the officer approached the vehicle and awakened Thomas who was asleep in the driver’s seat.  According to court records, the officer observed an assault-style riffle located on the back seat of Thomas’s car, a second firearm in a cubby hole near the vehicle’s dashboard, and small bags containing a crystal substance later determined to be approximately eight ounces of methamphetamine. According to court records, Thomas was previously convicted of first degree burglary in South Carolina and is prohibited from possessing firearms.  Thomas pleaded guilty in March 2016 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

* * *

In a separate case, Judge Reidinger also sentenced today Dallas Travolta McBride, 37, of Asheville, to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  According to court records, from on or about January 2015 to May 2015, McBride engaged in multiple drug sales of crack cocaine in the Asheville area.  According to court records, when law enforcement arrested McBride, they recovered marijuana, $2,090 in cash, and a handgun hidden under the driver’s seat of McBride’s vehicle.  In a separate incident, McBride was later arrested after being found in possession of another handgun.  According to court records, McBride was previously convicted in North Carolina of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, second degree burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury and is prohibited from possessing firearms.  McBride pleaded guilty in December 2015 to one count of possession of a firearm by convicted felon.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office for handling Thomas’s investigation.  Rose also thanked the FBI and the Asheville Police Department for their investigation into McBride.

Assistant United States Attorney John Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted both cases.