Defendant Sentenced to 72 Months Imprisonment for Trafficking Methamphetamine

 RALEIGH, N.C. – Paige Michelle Anderson, 29, from Ocean Isle Beach, NC was sentenced today to a total of 72 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine from April to June 2020; possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine on June 1, 2020; and possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine on June 14, 2020.

According to court documents and other information, beginning in April 2020, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and others with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office in Elizabethtown, North Carolina learned through a confidential source that Anderson was part of a drug trafficking organization selling methamphetamine in Bladen County.  During the week of May 30, 2020, law enforcement received information that Anderson would be traveling to Sanford, North Carolina to pick up methamphetamine with an associate.  Law enforcement tracked Anderson’s trip and on June 1, 2020, conducted a traffic stop on the car in which Anderson was a passenger.  During a search of the car, law enforcement found 90.7 grams of methamphetamine, a firearm, and $1,189.00 in currency.  On June 14, 2020, while monitoring Anderson’s movements, law enforcement noted Anderson once more traveled to Sanford.  Upon her return, officers stopped Anderson’s car when she failed to stop at a stop sign.  Anderson admitted that she had methamphetamine in the car.  During the search of the car, officers found 222 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale for weighing narcotics, and $536.00.  

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 Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Murphy Averitt  prosecuted the matter.

This case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-cr-00090-D.