Fayetteville Armed Drug Trafficker and Blood Gang Leader Sentenced to 30 Years

<_w3a_sdt combobox="t" docpart="BDB6F0DA90F346C5B34B9258796BF96B" id="-150998209" sdttag="Location" title="Location"><_w3a_listitem datavalue="RALEIGH" listvalue="RALEIGH"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="GREENVILLE" listvalue="GREENVILLE"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="NEW BERN" listvalue="NEW BERN"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="WILMINGTON" listvalue="WILMINGTON"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="ELIZABETH CITY" listvalue="ELIZABETH CITY"> RALEIGH, N.C. - A <_w3a_sdt docpart="9D680450C1CA4E78A08B5B00924DD4C9" id="849842128" sdttag="City" title="City">Fayetteville Blood gang member who led a drug trafficking organization that distributed thousands of pounds of high-grade marijuana was sentenced to 360 months in prison for drug trafficking and firearm charges. On May 24, 2023, Terrence Michael Pittman, age 29, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than one thousand kilograms of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

"The FPD continues to work collaboratively with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, we continue to aggressively combat Fayetteville's gun violence and narcotic trafficking," said Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, in 2019, the Fayetteville Police Department began investigating Pittman after receiving information that he was trafficking significant amounts of marijuana out of a Fayetteville residence. One witness told police that Pittman was receiving as much as a hundred pounds of marijuana at a time. In surveilling Pittman's residence, law enforcement observed individuals delivering large duffel bags believed to contain bulk marijuana to the house. Traffic stops of individuals associated with this drug trafficking organization yielded the seizure of over $165,000 from an individual seen leaving Pittman's house in October 2019, and the seizure of 141 pounds of marijuana out of a vehicle on the way to Pittman's house in November 2019. Witnesses who had been at the house when the duffel bags were delivered told law enforcement that the duffel bags contained bulk marijuana. Multiple witnesses also identified Pittman as the leader of a United Nation Blood gang subset.

Investigators received a warrant to conduct a wiretap on Pittman's phones for three months in 2020 and learned that he was operating three stash houses used to store and distribute drugs in Fayetteville. In intercepted phone calls, Pittman was heard arranging to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of marijuana at a time from suppliers with connections to Charlotte, Washington, D.C., New York, and California. Pittman was also overheard bragging that he made "a band" ($1000) on every "bag" (pound) of marijuana that he sold, further stating that he sold five hundred pounds per week. On November 12, 2020, investigators conducted searches at all three stash houses in Fayetteville and Pittman's primary residence in Clayton and seized nearly $100,000 in cash, approximately $300,000 worth of gold and diamond jewelry, more than 90 pounds of marijuana and six firearms, including four 9mm handguns, a 7.62 caliber rifle with a large capacity magazine, and a 7.62 caliber pistol.

Several other members of Pittman's drug trafficking organization have been convicted, including Rahein Saekwan Little (5:22-CR-00138-D-RJ-2); Candace Cherelle Spencer (5:22-CR-00138-D-RJ-3); Maurice Manuel Charity (5:22-CR-00138-D-RJ-4); Jennifer Talbert (5:22-CR-00169-D), Donovan McCrimmon (5:22-CR-00151-D), and Shiiquan Anderson (5:21-CR-171-D).

This investigation was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. 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.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by <_w3a_sdt combobox="t" docpart="BDB6F0DA90F346C5B34B9258796BF96B" id="-2024937349" sdttag="Judge" title="Judge"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle" listvalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan" listvalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III" listvalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II" listvalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt" listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard" listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard"> U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. <_w3a_sdt docpart="088C965506144C858DB52B913771597C" id="-1249267524" sdttag="Law Enforcement Agencies" title="Law Enforcement Agencies">The Fayetteville Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney <_w3a_sdt docpart="92CEF425626D428FBAA023F5E2A63241" id="-1618521751" sdttag="AUSA/SAUSA" title="AUSA/SAUSA">Caroline Webb prosecuted the case.

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. 5:22-cr-00138-D-1.