WILMINGTON, NC – Neville Singleton, 38, from North Charleston, South Carolina was sentenced on February 17, 2021 to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to possession and intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and help and complicity, and possession with the intention of distributing 500 grams or more of meth and help and complicity.
The investigation, along with evidence presented in court, revealed that on August 29, 2019, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made a controlled purchase of 51 grams of real meth at a restaurant in Wilmington, Carolina of the North, by Sean Thomas and Singleton. After the drug deal, Singleton and the undercover officer argued that Singleton would supply him with large quantities of methamphetamine in the future. Singleton indicated that the meth came from Charleston, South Carolina.
On August 29, 2019, the ATF, with the help of the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, ordered a quantity of methamphetamine from Singleton and Thomas to be delivered to a hotel in Brunswick County. When Singleton and Thomas arrived at the hotel parking lot from Charleston, the two were arrested. Police searched the trunk and found 1,134 grams of real methamphetamine. Between July 2019 and August 2019, Singleton owned or distributed over two and a half kilograms of real meth in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Singleton had previous convictions for possession with intent to deliver cocaine and possession with intent to deliver cocaine near a school (2003); possession with the intention of delivering cocaine (2004); possession with intent to deliver marijuana (2007); possession with the intention of delivering or distributing cocaine, LSD or other drugs; possession with the intention of delivering or distributing a drug near a school (2010); and possession with intention to distribute marijuana (2016). Singleton was on probation at the time he committed the crimes that brought him to federal court.
Robert J. Higdon, Jr., US attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing before District Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office participated in the investigation. US Attorney Attorney Timothy Severo sued the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or in PACER looking for Case No. 5: 20-CR-00005-M.