GREENVILLE – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that in federal court, Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard sentenced KYLE ROBERT PERRY, 27, of Kenly, North Carolina to 144 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

The prosecution of PERRY was a part of an  Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation (OCDETF), which has focused on methamphetamine manufacturers and distributors in Wilson and Wayne counties.

PERRY was named in an eight-count Indictment filed on December 6, 2017 charging him with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine from 2009 until December 15, 2015; possession of equipment, chemicals, products and materials with the intent to manufacture methamphetaime; and distribute of a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.  On April 9, 2018, PERRY pled guilty to the conspiracy charge.   

The investigation showed that  PERRY was a part of a drug trafficking organization that manufactured and distributed methamphetamine in Wilson County, North Carolina.  PERRY utilized at least five other people to purchase pseudoephedrine on his behalf, which is one of the main ingredients utilized in the manufacturing of methamphetamine.  On September 3, 2015, officers conducted a search of PERRY’s home and located several items utilized in the manufacturing of methamphetamine including a hydrochloric generator, a stripped lithium battery, a bottle with tubing and an empty pseudoephedrine package.  Due to the hazardous nature of these items, they were removed by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Clandestine Unit.  PERRY’s manufacturing of methamphetamine created a substantial risk of harm to human life or the environment.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, and Wilson Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Dena King represented the government.