A man from Georgia has been sentenced to 207 months in federal prison after trafficking meth, cocaine and heroin from Atlanta to Eastern North Carolina.
Demetrice “Peanut” Parker, 47, of Waycross Georgia, was sentenced for illegal possession of a gun and his part in a drug trafficking conspiracy that was responsible for the distribution of more than 37 kilograms of methamphetamine and 300 grams of heroin from Georgia to the Eastern District of North Carolina between 2018 and 2021, according to the Robeson County Sheriff's Office. Parker had previously been convicted on federal drug trafficking charges in Georgia.
According to court documents, evidence presented in court and other documents, on March 19, 2019, a Fayetteville police officer stopped a car for a traffic violation. Parker was seated in the back seat. During the traffic stop, the officer found a bag in the back seat which contained 200 grams of heroin, more than 100 grams of methamphetamine and 60 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine and a loaded stolen 9mm handgun.
On October 22, 2019, Duplin County detectives made a controlled purchase of 171 grams of methamphetamine from Parker. During the investigation, it was determined that Parker was a source of supply for Jeremy Cline in Duplin County. Cline received a 288-month federal prison sentence for his role in this conspiracy.
On October 29, 2019, the DEA received information that Parker was transporting drugs from Atlanta, Georgia to Eastern North Carolina. Parker was stopped in Lumberton by the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and a drug K9 alerted to the odor of drugs coming from the car. Deputies searched the car and found 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 41 grams of cocaine, 139 grams of heroin and a loaded .38 caliber handgun.
On March 8, 2022, Parker pled guilty to the following charges: One count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing Methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine, a quantity of cocaine and 100 grams or more of heroin and three counts of possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Deputies said the operation is part of "Fighting JellyFish” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.