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A Bertie County man has been sentenced to 300 months in prison for trafficking cocaine, cocaine base and methamphetamine and conspiring to commit money laundering in northeastern North Carolina, according to a January 5, 2022 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina. Levar Anthony Leary, 41, pleaded guilty or was convicted of the charges on August 2, 2021.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Leary organized and led a drug trafficking organization from 2016 to early 2021 that was responsible for distributing cocaine, cocaine base (crack), methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana throughout northeastern North Carolina.

“Leary and his associates used a hotel, nightclub, and convenience store in Bertie County as locations to distribute narcotics and launder money,” stated the release. “Using surveillance and technical investigative tools, agents were able to track and observe Leary travel all over the country, including California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia, in order to obtain large quantities of drugs and return to North Carolina.”

The release noted that a number of Leary’s associates have been convicted and sentenced: Johnny Earl Jordan (72 months); Fred Rudolph Robbins Jr. (90 months); and Alexander Leander Williams Jr. (132 months).

“As a result of the investigation, law enforcement has seized numerous vehicles and properties used to conceal the profits of this illegal activity as well as recovered multiple firearms and additional narcotics,” stated the release.

Michael Easley 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. The organizations were assisted by the United States Marshals Service; Joseph K. Roberts, Department of Justice Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Financial Investigations Section; the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office; Chowan County Sheriff’s Office; the Dare County Sheriff’s Office; the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office; the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office; the Perquimans County Sheriff’s Office; and the Elizabeth City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller prosecuted the case.

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