ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WNCT/WNCN) –– A man at the North Carolina coast was sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug-related crimes in which he pleaded guilty earlier this year, officials said.
Adrian Lamont Dixon of Aurora was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment for possession and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. On February 16, Dixon pleaded guilty to the charge.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Dixon was investigated in July 2020 by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office after deputies were told Dixon was distributing cocaine and heroin.
Information from two confidential sources led deputies to believe Dixon was trafficking in narcotics and carrying a firearm during his drug dealing.
During August and September 2020, investigators conducted surveillance at a home “in Aurora believed to be a stash house for Dixon’s narcotics,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Investigators saw Dixon traveling to the Bonnerton Road residence on multiple occasions, officials said. The home did not seem to be otherwise in use.
On Oct. 22, 2020, investigators saw Dixon and a female arrive at the home in Aurora. Dixon retrieved an item from another vehicle and then drove away.
Deputies conducted a traffic stop because Dixon did not have a valid North Carolina driver’s license, according to authorities. Dixon consented to a search and investigators said they found a large amount of cash. In addition, investigators said they found several thousands of dollars folded in $1,000 increments in the driver’s side door.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence in Aurora. Dixon told law enforcement they would find heroin in the home. When investigators searched the home, they found a stolen firearm, approximately 20 grams of cocaine and 28 grams of heroin.
Dixon had been previously convicted of possessing and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and had been released from federal prison in November 2019.