James Edward Whitaker, Crack and Marijuana Trafficking, North Carolina 2017

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Table of Contents

Raleigh Man Sentenced to 84 Months for Crack and Marijuana Crimes

A 33-year-old Raleigh gang member, JAMES EDWARD WHITAKER, has been sentenced to 84 months in prison for his role in a crack and marijuana trafficking operation in Raleigh.

According to court documents, WHITAKER was arrested on July 19, 2017, after officers with the Raleigh Police Department observed him exit a vehicle and trespass on property he had been told to stay away from. Officers noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car and approached WHITAKER, who resisted arrest and fled on foot.

During the subsequent investigation, officers found a handgun, cocaine base (crack), US currency, and marijuana in the car that WHITAKER had exited. He was later located and arrested and subsequently charged with possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base (crack) and marijuana, as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

WHITAKER pleaded guilty to the charges on May 29, 2018, and was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III to 84 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release.

The case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative, which emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis to reduce violent crime and drug trafficking.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Raleigh Police Department, Chapel Hill Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette handled the prosecution of this case for the government.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, which aims to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone, also played a role in the case.