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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice
Robert J. Higdon, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, 59, of Henderson to 57 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised released. Judge Dever also ordered that WILLIAMS’ one-third interest in his residence be forfeited to the federal government.
On March 11, 2019, WILLIAMS, pled guilty to two counts of distribution of cocaine base (crack), possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack), maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distributing cocaine base (crack) and aiding and abetting, and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
In early 2018, WILLIAMS and others were identified by the Vance County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) as trafficking in narcotics out of his residence located at 310 Yancey Lane in Henderson, North Carolina. A series of controlled purchases of narcotics were made from WILLIAMS at that residence by a confidential informant.
Thereafter, VCSO sought and obtained a search warrant for WILLIAMS’ residence. Upon the execution of that warrant, VCSO encountered WILLIAMS with crack cocaine and ammunition. At the time of the offense, WILLIAMS was a convicted felon and, therefore, was prohibited from possessing ammunition or firearms.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Since 2017, the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This case is also 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 violence crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.
For more information about this initiative please click https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case for the government.
News releases are available on the U.S. Attorney’s webpage at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc.