Derwin Durham, Drug Conspiracy, North Carolina 2013

Nine Arrested in North Carolina Drug Conspiracy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a major blow to the region's drug trade, nine of ten men named in a federal criminal indictment were arrested this morning by law enforcement on federal drug conspiracy charges.

U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins announced the arrests, which were the result of a joint Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation conducted by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The indictment alleges that from in or around 2002 to the present, the defendants conspired with each other and others to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of crack cocaine in Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties.

The 10 defendants charged with one count of drug conspiracy are:

• Derwin Durham, a/k/a ‘Red,’ 56, of Gastonia, N.C.

• James Michael Barber, a/k/a ‘Big Cheese,’ 41, of Gastonia

• Carroll Macarthur Williams, Jr., 34, of Kings Mountain, N.C.

• Thomas Monteres Burris, 33, of Gastonia

• Larry Donnell Erby, Jr., 34, of Gastonia

• Mario Demond Floyd, 33, of Gastonia

• Tony Lamar Floyd, 45, of Gastonia

• Lance Richardson Pagan, 43, of Gastonia

• Torben Lamont Jackson, 33, of Charlotte

• James Russell ‘Rusty’ Coulter, 34, of Gastonia

While executing the arrest warrants and search warrants, law enforcement seized three firearms, approximately $67,000 in cash, two motorcycles, three vehicles, bullets, drugs and drug making paraphernalia.

The charges against the defendants carry significant penalties, with Durham and Barber facing a statutory mandatory life sentence and $20 million fine, while the remaining defendants face a statutory minimum term of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine.

The last of the ten defendants named in the indictment remains a fugitive, and the nine defendants' detention hearings have been scheduled for September 24, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keesler.

The investigation was handled by the FBI, HSI, SBI, the Gastonia Police Department, the Mount Holly Police Department and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kau.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/nine-arrested-and-charged-drug-conspiracy