Charlotte Man Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced Gary Lee Davis, 56, of Charlotte, to 188 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Davis was arrested in January 2021 after meeting a confidential source and selling 20 grams of fentanyl. He later sold a kilogram of fentanyl to the source and arranged to sell another kilogram in the near future. Law enforcement arrested Davis while he was on his way to meet with the source and seized approximately 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl from his vehicle.

According to court documents, Davis admitted to receiving fentanyl and cocaine shipped in bulk via the U.S. Mail from a supplier based in California. Davis mailed cash drug proceeds back to his supply source in California. Davis also admitted to trafficking between 50 and 100 kilograms of fentanyl.

Davis laundered his drug proceeds by buying luxury vehicles and renting several stash houses in Charlotte, which he used to store his drugs and drug proceeds. During the investigation, law enforcement seized a total of approximately 16 kilograms of fentanyl and four kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement also seized six of Davis’s vehicles, including a Maybach and two Mercedes Benz vehicles, two Lexus vehicles, and a Chevrolet Corvette. Law enforcement also seized $300,000 in cash drug proceeds and two loaded firearms.

“By day, Davis was as a sanitation worker for the City of Charlotte. By night, he was a bulk trafficker of fentanyl, a deadly substance that is devastating our communities. I commend our law enforcement partners for conducting an investigation that led to the largest federal seizure of fentanyl in this District. We will continue to focus our efforts on identifying large drug networks and major distributors like Davis and disrupting the flow of illegal fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney King.

Gary Lee Davis pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine on August 12, 2021. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.

Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout prosecuted the case. U.S. Attorney King commended the DEA and IRS-CI for their investigation of the case and thanked CMPD for their assistance with Davis’s arrest.

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