Koby Dale Tevepaugh, Drug Trafficking and Gun Charges, North Carolina 2021

A Hickory man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation and discharging a firearm at a neighbor.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Koby Dale Tevepaugh, 32, of Hickory, N.C., to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for drug trafficking and firearm offenses, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Between September and November 2021, Tevepaugh trafficked large amounts of methamphetamine in and around Catawba County, according to court records.

On November 10, 2021, Tevepaugh shot a firearm at a neighbor and then barricaded himself in his home. He eventually surrendered to law enforcement, who seized four kilograms of methamphetamine, $189,270 in cash, and five firearms from his residence.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized an additional $22,465 in drug proceeds. Tevepaugh has multiple prior convictions, including breaking and entering, first-degree burglary, and felony drug offenses, which resulted in an increased sentence.

Tevepaugh previously pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of, and possession with intent to distribute, methamphetamine and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. 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.

The case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which has led to the federal prosecution of more than 60 individuals for drug trafficking.

Law enforcement have also seized more than 27 kilograms of cocaine, 3.5 kilograms of heroin, 29 kilograms of fentanyl, 49 kilograms of methamphetamine, 70 firearms, more than $385,000 in cash, and over $800,000 in other property.

Tevepaugh’s sentence is a result of the coordinated efforts of the following law enforcement agencies: Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, the Hickory Police Department, the Morganton Department of Public Safety, the Longview Police Department, the Huntersville Police Department, and the Gastonia Police Department.

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