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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that yesterday in federal court, United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced JONATHAN ANTWAN MITCHELL, 34, of Henderson, North Carolina to 312 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
MITCHELL was named in an Indictment filed on December 4, 2018, charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of heroin, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On July 22, 2019, MITCHELL pled guilty to that charge.
According to the investigation, in August of 2018, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted a controlled purchase of heroin from MITCHELL. This purchase occurred in Henderson, North Carolina.
A few days later, a trooper with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a car that MITCHELL was driving. MITCHELL sped away, reaching speeds of up to approximately 80 mph in a 45 mph zone. After a couple of miles, MITCHELL lost control and wrecked the car in a ditch. MITCHELL ran from the car and after a struggle with the trooper, was ultimately placed under arrest. Agents from the Vance County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation arrived at the scene to assist.
As a result of the arrest and a search of the car, agents recovered over 1,200 dosage units of heroin, approximately $31,000 in US currency, a semiautomatic pistol, and a 50-round extended magazine. MITCHELL later admitted to agents that he had been dealing heroin in the Henderson and Vance County area since 2014.
This case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. For more information about this initiative click here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations; the State Bureau of Investigation; the Vance County Sheriff’s Office; and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol conducted the investigation in this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Nick J. Miller represented the government.
