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A Clinton man was sentenced Wednesday, February 9, 2022 to 106 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to a press release form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina. Javaun Delano Jaleel Johnson, 30, pleaded guilty to the charges on October 19, 2021.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Johnson was stopped on September 2, 2020 at a checkpoint in Clinton. “Johnson did not possess a valid driver’s license. Upon searching Johnson’s car, officers recovered marijuana, methamphetamine, $5,000 in cash, a scale, and a .45 caliber handgun,” stated the release. “A few months later, in January of 2021, after another automobile stop, Johnson was found in possession of more methamphetamine, and a loaded .380. caliber firearm.”

The release stated that at Johnson’s sentencing, “the court denied the defendant’s request for a departure from the sentencing guidelines, citing the defendant’s multiple firearm possession events. At the time of the offense, the defendant had previously been convicted on a state charge for being a felon in possession of a different firearm than those involved in the federal case.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Clinton Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William M. Gilmore and Evan Rikhye prosecuted.

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