Federal jury convicts meth trafficker Davis
A Charlotte man, who sold high-purity methamphetamine in Alexander County and elsewhere, was convicted this week in Federal Court in Statesville.
Late Tuesday, July 25, 2017, a federal jury sitting in Statesville returned a guilty verdict against Joseph Howard Davis, 34, of Charlotte, on charges of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms by convicted felon, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Richard L. Voorhees presided over the trial.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making this announcement by Nick Annan, Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta and the Carolinas; Robert Schurmeier, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; Chief Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police Department (HPD); and Sheriff Chris Bowman of the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).
According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, on October 11, 2016, law enforcement seized from Davis approximately two ounces of 96% pure methamphetamine. Trial evidence also established that on October 19, 2016, law enforcement recovered two rifles while executing a search warrant at Davis’s residence. Davis’s previous felony convictions prohibit him from possessing firearms.
At sentencing, Davis faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison, and a fine of up to $20 million. The firearm charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Davis remains in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set.
Davis’s prosecution is part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that has resulted in the conviction of more than 200 defendants on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges. OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
In making Wednesday’s announcement U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the Charlotte division of ICE-HSI, NC SBI, HPD, and ACSO for leading the investigation, and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution.
