'Hill-Top Mafia' sentenced
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on December 11, 2015 1:46 PM
A group of seven local men and women, who refer to themselves as "The Hill-Top Mafia," were sentenced by federal authorities Thursday morning for their participation in a methamphetamine trafficking ring in Johnston, Wilson and Wayne counties.
"The organization called themselves 'The Hill-Top Mafia' due to the close affiliation they have with methamphetamine, guns and violence," said a press release from the office of Thomas Walker, United States attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The individuals who were sentenced to varying lengths of prison time and punishments on Thursday are as follows:
* William Bryan Hill, 32, Kenly, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014. Sentenced to 121 months and a lifetime of supervised release.
* Samuel Wayne Hill, 26, Smithfield, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014. Sentenced to 480 months and a lifetime of supervised release.
* William Joseph Hill, 28, Princeton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014. Sentenced to 175 months and a lifetime of supervised release.
* Terry Matthew Hall, 21, Wilson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014. Sentenced to 225 months and a lifetime of supervised release.
* Michael Eugene Custer, 40, Princeton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014. Sentenced to 123 months and a lifetime of supervised release.
* Dolly Wadsworth Evans, 46, Smithfield, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014.
* Samantha Leigh Ross-Varner, 24, of Goldsboro, was also involved in the drug trafficking ring and was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release on Dec. 8 in a separate two-count indictment for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014, and the possession of a firearm by a felon.
A 13-count indictment was handed down to the six individuals who aren't from Goldsboro on Sept. 16, 2014, for the following charges:
* Count one charged conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between November 2011 and Sept. 16, 2014, and the possession of a firearm by a felon.
* Counts two and three charged distribution and possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine on March 18, 2013 and March 26, 2013, respectively.
* Counts four and seven charged possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting on Sept. 13, 2013 and Dec. 9, 2013, respectively.
* Counts five, six and nine charged possession of equipment, chemicals, products and materials with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine and aiding and abetting on Oct. 16, 2013 and Dec. 9, 2013, respectively.
* Counts eight and 10 charged possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine and aiding and abetting on Dec. 9, 2013 and Dec. 12, 2013, respectively.
* Count 12 charged possession of a stolen firearm on Dec. 12, 2013.
* Count 13 charged possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Dec. 12, 2013.
The six individuals sentenced on Thursday only pleaded guilty to count one, and were sentenced accordingly.
"That count is the one they all pled guilty to," said Special Agent Kelly Page with the State Bureau of Investigation. "Basically that is the count that all of them have in common. Essentially what that means is that they entered into a plea deal with the United States Government and pled guilty to count one."
Samuel Hill received the longest sentence out of the seven individuals, and was considered the lead defendant in the case. Why this is the case could hinge on a number of factors, Ms. Page said.
"Sentences are up to the judge, but they are based on a number of factors and some of those factors are what role they played in the conspiracy and what their involvement was," she said. "And it could depend on what criminal history they have, and ultimately the judge decides the sentence."
Samuel Hill and William Joseph Hill are brothers, Ms. Page said, and William Bryan Hill is their cousin.
The conspiratorial operation was headquartered in the Brogden area. Evans' residence and property in Smithfield was a hub of the operation, along with the residences of Samuel Hill, William Joseph Hill and William Bryan Hill.
During the span of the operation, Evans allowed all of the conspirators to use her residence for the manufacturing and use of methamphetamine.
Evans also allowed the now-sentenced criminals to live in her house, while purchasing the necessary chemicals and items needed to manufacture methamphetamine in return for methamphetamine.
Samuel Hill, William Joseph Hill, William Bryan Hill, Custer and Hall were methamphetamine cooks. Ross-Varner was a methamphetamine user and cook, and also purchased items for use in the production of the drug.
For part of the roughly three-year-long conspiracy, Ross-Varner lived with Evans and dated Samuel Hill.
The investigation into the methamphetamine trafficking ring began because the Johnston County Sheriff's Office reached out to the SBI to request assistance with looking into these individuals due to receiving so many complaints about them that were related to methamphetamine, Ms. Page said.
"This was certainly a joint investigation into those methamphetamine labs," Ms. Page said. "Basically there was a series of events involving these individuals, and through the collection of evidence and conducting interviews we learned they all knew each other and were involved in these activities together."
Methamphetamine is manufactured with everyday household items, requiring the use and combination of pseudoephedrine that is found in many over the counter cold medicines with lithium -- usually stripped from batteries -- plastic tubing, dry ice, Coleman fuel, muriatic acid, fertilizer and liquid drain cleaner.
Nearly all of these items can be found at retail stores.