Joshua Vines, Kilo Fentanyl Trafficking, North Carolina 2024

Raleigh, NC - In a major blow to the fentanyl trade in Eastern North Carolina, Joshua Vines, 40, has been sentenced to over 8 years in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.

Vines, a resident of Raleigh, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl.

According to court records and evidence presented at sentencing, on October 25, 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were conducting surveillance on a vehicle registered to co-defendant Nigel Gray.

They observed the car parked outside a Dollar General in Elizabeth City, where a passenger and co-defendant, Omar Cardenas, exited and got into another vehicle.

Law enforcement later stopped the vehicle, driven by Vines, in Nashville, NC.

During the stop, Vines contacted Gray by phone to ask for the car’s registration information.

A trained K-9 alerted to the vehicle, prompting a search.

Inside, officers found approximately 30,000 pills containing fentanyl or para-fluorofentanyl, with a combined weight of 1.5 kilograms, along with an additional kilogram of fentanyl powder.

Vines had texted Gray that they were being detained and requested consent to search the vehicle.

The group had planned to distribute the drugs in the Raleigh area.

Vines has prior felony convictions for discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, trafficking heroin, and trafficking cocaine by transportation.

The case was investigated by HSI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the Raleigh Police Department, the Nashville Police Department, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Severo and Katherine Englander prosecuted the case.

Vines was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-00076.

Mandatory Facts:

Defendant: Joshua Vines

Criminal Charges: Conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl

City and State: Raleigh, North Carolina

Exact Date: October 25, 2023

Sentence: Over 8 years in federal prison

Defendant’s Prior Convictions: Discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, trafficking heroin, and trafficking cocaine by transportation

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/kilo-fentanyl-trafficker-sentenced-more-eight-years-prison