NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCN) — An eastern North Carolina man convicted of cooking methamphetamine will spend more than 12 years in prison, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that Craig Wayne Simpson, 53, of Hertford County, received a 150-month sentence along with five years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle said the sentence he gave Simpson was influenced by his possession of a loaded shotgun and that he admitted to lying under oath during his trial.
Simpson was convicted in April on three charges:
- Conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine;
- Possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine;
- Possession of equipment, chemicals, products, and material with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.
Prosecutors said that from 2013-19, Simpson had other people purchase pseudoephedrine for him so he could produce meth while sidestepping federal and state purchasing limits.
Law enforcement found a bag containing meth-making materials and 170 liquid grams of the drug during a checkpoint in 2016 in Hertford County.
Finally, a search of his property three years later turned up meth in both powder and liquid forms, along with chemicals used to make the drug and the loaded shotgun positioned on a handrail pointed toward the front door.
