County man gets 35 years in prison
By John Joyce
Published in News on March 9, 2016 1:46 PM
A Mount Olive man charged with running a five-person meth ring in Duplin County between 2010 and April 2015 will spend 35 years in federal prison, according to U. S. Department of Justice press release.
Randall Stewart Hill, 39, was found guilty in November 2015 of manufacturing, distributing, dispensing and possessing with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing 550 grams or more of methamphetamine.
A federal judge sentenced Hill Tuesday to 420 months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
According to the press release, Randall used people in and around Duplin County to go pharmacy to pharmacy purchasing small amounts of pseudoephedrine in a practice known as "smurfing."
These smurfs would then bring the "pseudo" back to Hill, and he would use it in the process of manufacturing meth.
According to information obtained from the justice department, a group of 10 such smurfs and meth manufacturers from the Lenoir and Wayne County areas were indicted in April 2014. The smurfs received sentences ranging from 30 to 108 months in federal prison. The manufacturers, including Joseph Irven Powell Jr., William H. Paschall Jr., Ralph Eddie Stroud and Lorne Giles Howard, each received sentences in the range of 60 to 200 months in prison.
"Information and debriefs with many of these cooperating witnesses led to the indictment of Randall Hill in April, 2015," U.S. Dept. of Justice public information officer Don Connelly said via email.
"Several of these cooperating defendants, plus several state cooperating witnesses, testified at (Hill's) trial, which resulted in a guilty verdict on Nov. 3, 2015," he said.
An investigation into a known drug house led Duplin County Sheriff's deputies to attempt a traffic stop in which Hill as the driver.
Hill managed to speed off -- nearly taking a deputy with him -- and ditched several bags with electrical tape wrapped around them during the pursuit, according to the press release.
He also damaged at least two patrol cars along the way before being forced to stop.
Deputies recovered the taped bags, as well as $1,806 in cash on Hill's person. That dollar amount translates to 18.6 grams of meth, the press release said.
A cooperating informant later passed on to investigators that Hill admitted to ditching 43 grams of meth wrapped in electrical tape during the chase.
In total, the federal prosecutors said Hill was responsible for an estimated 729.57 grams of meth from at least January 2010 to April 8, 2015. Hill manufactured meth and endangered the life of a minor under the age of 18 by involving the youth in the process, according to the press release. He possessed at least one firearm and maintained a premise for the manufacture of meth, the release said.
Those factors, plus the fact Hill managed an operation including as many as five subordinates in a criminal activity, mitigated his sentencing, Connelly said.
"These were enhancements for sentencing," he said.