Raeford Men Sentenced for Drug Trafficking and Illegal Gun Possession

NEW BERN – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces that United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced ANTONIO DWAYNE EVANS, 33, of Raeford, NC to 158 months imprisonment followed by 4 years of supervised release.

EVANS and his brother, Sammy Durane Evans, Jr., were named in a six-count Indictment on July 18, 2018.  On June 19, 2019, ANTONIO EVANS pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess With Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack), a Quantity of Cocaine, a Quantity of Marijuana, and a Quantity of Heroin; Possession With Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack), a Quantity of Cocaine, a Quantity of Marijuana, and a Quantity of Heroin, and Aiding and Abetting; and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.

From January 2018 to May 2, 2018, the Fayetteville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of brothers Sammy Durane Evans, Jr., and ANTONIO DWAYNE EVANS.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement received information that Sammy Evans and ANTONIO EVANS regularly sold crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana from two parked vehicles in the driveway of a residence located on Amanda Circle in Fayetteville.  It was also beloved that the Evans brothers stored their drugs and weapons in the vehicles while selling at the residence.

On May 2, 2018, physical surveillance was established on the Amanda Circle residence, where investigators observed vehicles parked in front of the residence. Surveillance verified several individuals coming and going from the residence and vehicles. 

ANTONIO EVANS was seen meeting with various individuals, and going back and forth between two parked vehicles.  After one transaction, officers stopped a vehicle leaving the residence and subsequently recovered marijuana.  The driver admitted that the marijuana had been purchased from the residence.

Following the traffic stop, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at the Amanda Circle residence.  As officers approached the property, an individual fled the residence, but was apprehended after a brief foot chase. 

Officers recovered a bag containing cocaine and marijuana in the surrounding area.  The individual stated that he lived at the house, and when officers searched his room, they located 2.9 grams of cocaine, 14.7 grams of marijuana, a rifle magazine, 13 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, sandwich bags, 2 cell phones, and $4,992 in U.S. currency.

Sammy Evans and ANTONIO EVANS were then located outside the residence.  Sammy Evans also attempted to run, but he was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.

Officers recovered a high capacity magazine, a loaded 9mm firearm, and 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition from Sammy Evans’s vehicle; ANTONIO EVANS possessed a key to that vehicle.

Also recovered from the Evans brothers, including from their vehicles and the immediate area, were 2 gun holsters, 49.2 grams of crack cocaine, 285.8 grams of cocaine, 6.3 grams of heroin, 100.7 grams of marijuana, 236 dosage units of opiates (2.48 grams of oxycodone), 71 dosage units of Alprazolam (a Schedule IV drug), 12.5 grams of MDMA, and a total of $2,708 in U.S. currency.

Based on the investigation, ANTONIO EVANS was held responsible for 6.3 grams of heroin, 12.5 grams of MDMA, 71 dosage units of Alprazolam (Schedule IV drug), 89.85 grams of crack cocaine, 2.48 grams of oxycodone, 1,062.98 grams of cocaine, and 101.2 grams of marijuana.

Additionally, he is a convicted felon, possessed a firearm in connection with his drug-trafficking activities, and maintained a premise for the purpose of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance.

Previously, on April 11, 2019, Sammy Evans was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine, 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack), a Quantity of Marijuana, and a Quantity of Heroin and Possession with Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base (Crack), a Quantity of Cocaine, a Quantity of Marijuana, and a Quantity of Heroin and Aiding and Abetting.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  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 level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  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 additional information about this initiative, click here https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.

The Fayetteville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted this case for the government.