A federal jury in Charlotte delivered a guilty verdict against Kenter O’Neal Ruff, 43, of Gastonia, N.C., for drug distribution, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The conviction stems from an investigation into drug trafficking in Gaston County, where law enforcement identified Ruff as a local drug distributor. According to trial evidence, on multiple occasions between October 2020 and April 2021, Ruff sold cocaine base to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.
Ruff was on supervised release stemming from a prior federal drug conviction and had additional state convictions related to drug trafficking and drug possession.
The federal jury convicted Ruff of four counts of distribution of cocaine base. Ruff remains in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and the Gastonia Police Department for their investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Kent and Steven R. Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte and Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) William Wiseman are prosecuting the case.
Related Federal Cases
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- Timothy Mark Blackmon, Fentanyl Distribution, North Carolina 2024 · Alabama
- Michael Stuckey, Firearms Trafficking and Drug Distribution, DC, 2023 · District of Columbia
- Jarrku Natu Bennett, Drug Distribution Conspiracy, NC 2015 · North Carolina
- Jamie Smith, Meth Manufacturing Conspiracy, North Carolina 2023 · New Hampshire
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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