01/17/12 — LaGrange man sentenced on federal charges

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LaGrange man sentenced on federal charges

By From staff reports
Published in News on January 17, 2012 1:46 PM

A LaGrange man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug charges.

Terrace Levon Jones, 26, of LaGrange, was sentenced this week by Senior United States District Judge Malcolm J. Howard to 188 months in prison followed by five years of probation. Jones was also fined $2,500.

A federal grand jury returned a criminal indictment against Jones on June 7, 2011. He pleaded guilty last Sept. 14 to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base (crack) and a quantity of cocaine.

According to the investigation, on Nov. 5, 2010, a controlled purchase was arranged in which a co-defendant, Melvin Wayne Moye, agreed to meet a contact in Farmville. The pair then traveled to Jones' residence in LaGrange, where Jones allegedly sold 26.7 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant.

In November and December, 2010, three more controlled purchases were arranged with Jones, in which 38.3 grams, 54.2 grams, and 153.8 grams of crack cocaine were sold. Jones was arrested after the final controlled purchase in December, 2010.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Greenville Drug Task Force, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office and the Farmville Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Glenn Perry was the assigned prosecutor.