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An Elizabeth City man was sentenced Thursday, December 22, 2022 to 114 months in prison for distributing cocaine, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of North Carolina. Quayshaun Laquan Banks, 31, pleaded guilty to the charges on September 19, 2022.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Banks, who the release states is a validated member of the United Bloods Nation street gang, was investigated by the Albemarle Drug Task Force after information indicated that Banks was distributing controlled substances in Northeastern North Carolina.

“Utilizing a confidential informant, the Task Force conducted a series of controlled purchases of cocaine from Banks. Subsequent investigation revealed that Banks had distributed almost two kilograms of cocaine in and around Elizabeth City from October 2017 through April 2018, and then again from November 2019 through March 2020,” stated the release. “Banks was incarcerated for an unrelated conviction during the intervening time. Banks is a convicted felon, having convictions for interfering with an electronic monitoring device, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of marijuana, and breaking and entering. He also has numerous misdemeanor convictions.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the Elizabeth City Police Department, the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office and the Dare County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Dodson prosecuted.

“This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation,” stated the release. “OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.”

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