James Earl Rutland III, Drug Trafficking, North Carolina 2020

Raleigh, NC - James Earl Rutland III, 34, of Wilmington, North Carolina, was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment for drug offenses.

Rutland was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine. The crimes occurred on July 20, 2018, October 29, 2018, and January 23, 2019.

According to the investigation, on July 20, 2018, following a controlled purchase of heroin from Rutland, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Rutland’s hotel room. Officers found multiple bags of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl in the hotel room and 9mm ammunition in Rutland’s car.

On October 29, 2018, law enforcement officers were notified by a confidential source that Rutland was “selling dope.” Law enforcement officers approached and searched Rutland and recovered 79 bindles of a heroin, fentanyl, and tramadol mixture.

Rutland has an extensive history of narcotics-related convictions and offenses in New Hanover County.

This case is part of the FBI Investigation Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation “Dodgeball” with cooperation from the ATF, Wilmington Police Department, and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. The operation is focused on a drug trafficking organization operating in the New Hanover County area of North Carolina.

The FBI, ATF, Wilmington Police Department, and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation of this case. Special Assistant United States Attorney Murphy Averitt prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/wilmington-man-receives-96-months-federal-prison-drug-offenses