Jorge Luis Perez, Drug and Gun Charges, North Carolina 2022

A federal judge in Asheville, North Carolina, has sentenced a Florida man to over 21 years in prison for drug and gun charges.

Jorge Luis Perez, 36, of Wimauma, Florida, was sentenced to 260 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug and gun charges, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Perez was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of actual methamphetamine.

According to court records, Perez distributed methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl in Jackson and Swain Counties between May and July 2020. He obtained his drugs from distributors in Mexico through Georgia and distributed them in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Law enforcement recovered a distribution quantity of methamphetamine, a firearm, and $10,384 in U.S. currency during a traffic stop in Sylva, North Carolina, on May 21, 2020. Perez falsely claimed that he won the money at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

Perez was arrested in Florida on January 5, 2022, on charges arising from his criminal conduct in North Carolina. During the trial, several more ounces of methamphetamine and a kilogram of heroin were attributed to Perez.

The Court enhanced Perez’s sentence, finding that he obstructed justice on multiple occasions. Perez lied under oath about his involvement in drug trafficking activities, the source of the seized money, and his ownership of a camper used to store drugs and firearms.

U.S. Attorney King credited today’s sentence to the investigative efforts of the Asheville, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida, Offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Jackson County, Swain County, and Transylvania County Sheriff’s Offices in North Carolina; and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

Perez is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Kent, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

Perez’s sentencing serves as a reminder of the severity of drug trafficking crimes and the importance of law enforcement’s efforts to combat these activities.

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