Clarkton man sentenced to six to eight years on drug and heroin charges
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A Clarkton man pleaded guilty on Monday, March 27, to drug and heroin charges in New Hanover County Superior Court, according to District Attorney Ben David’s office.
The judge sentenced 41-year-old Justin Steele to 70 to 93 months on charges of trafficking heroin by transportation and possession with intent to sell and deliver schedule I controlled substance. Steele also was given a $50,000 fine.
“On April 5, 2022, a confidential informant working on behalf of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office arranged to buy 400 bindles of heroin from the defendant, whom he had purchased large quantities of heroin from before. The defendant stated over the phone that he was going to bring the heroin to the confidential informant’s residence on Kerr Avenue in Wilmington,” states a release from the DA.
The DA’s office says that Steele showed up about 90 minutes later at the informant’s residence.
“Once the defendant’s vehicle was parked, Vice and Narcotics Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office detained the defendant and searched the Accord. Inside the vehicle, detectives found 400 bindles of heroin, and on the defendant’s person, officers found $1,730 of U.S. currency. Later testing conducted by the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Crime Lab confirmed the substance in the seized bindles contained a mixture of heroin and fentanyl,” states the announcement.
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