Asheville Methamphetamine Distributor Is Sentenced To 28 Years In Prison On Drug And Gun Charges

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Jason Dean Keever, 42, of Asheville, was sentenced to 336 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release today for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Sheriff William Wilke of the Haywood County Sheriff's Office (HCSO), join U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

According to court documents and court proceedings, Keever and his co-defendant, Joel Wesley Creech, engaged in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Haywood, Buncombe, McDowell, and Transylvania Counties. The investigation began in 2021, after the DEA and the HCSO learned that Keever and Creech were acquiring large quantities of methamphetamine and redistributing it to others within the Western District of North Carolina. On June 21, 2021, law enforcement conducting surveillance of Keever and Creech observed Keever's vehicle leaving Creech's residence in Haywood County. Law enforcement initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, detectives located a void area under the steering wheel that contained a semi-automatic pistol with one round of ammunition in the chamber and four rounds in the magazine. Investigators also seized more than $10,000 in cash and two large plastic bags that contained nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine. According to filed court documents, the next day, detectives executed a search warrant at Creech's residence, where they seized more than 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine buried in the backyard.

On August 25, 2023, Keever pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

On November 2, 2023, Creech was sentenced to 11 years in prison, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine,

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, the ATF, and the Haywood County Sheriff's Office.

In making today's announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the DEA and the Haywood County Sheriff's Office for their investigation of the case, and thanked the McDowell, Buncombe, and Transylvania County Sheriffs' Offices for their invaluable assistance.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.