A Goldsboro man was sentenced this week to 240 months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, 25-year-old James Nathan Crawford, Jr., also known as “Stacks,” had engaged in a multi-year conspiracy to distribute large amounts of crystal methamphetamine and heroin throughout Goldsboro, Kinston, and Sampson County.  At sentencing, the judge held Crawford accountable for over 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 500 grams of heroin, noting that Crawford had been in charge of others involved in the conspiracy.  Crawford was reportedly a known leader in a local set of the United Blood Nation gang.

The investigation was part of OCDETF Operation Carolina’s Ice Fall, which targeted large-scale methamphetamine dealers operating in and around Goldsboro.  An Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (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.  To date, Operation Carolina’s Ice Fall has resulted in the prosecutions of 26 individuals for their role in methamphetamine distribution and other crimes.

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Goldsboro Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura S. Howard  prosecuted the case.