Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to Eight Years

<_w3a_listitem listvalue="RALEIGH" datavalue="RALEIGH"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="GREENVILLE" datavalue="GREENVILLE"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="NEW BERN" datavalue="NEW BERN"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="WILMINGTON" datavalue="WILMINGTON"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="ELIZABETH CITY" datavalue="ELIZABETH CITY">RALEIGH, N.C. - A Wake Forest man was sentenced to 96 months in prison for dealing fentanyl in Raleigh. On September 23, 2024, Michael Anthony Weidner pled guilty two counts of distribution of a quantity of fentanyl.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Michael Weidner, 31, sold cocaine, and fentanyl and Adderall pills from October 2022 through April 2024. In addition, in November of 2022, Weidner, a convicted felon, was found intoxicated and asleep in the driver's seat of a car with a loaded AR-15 style firearm on the passenger seat. When a Wake County Sheriff's Deputy approached and awakened Weidner, Weidner reached for the firearm and was taken into custody. As a previously convicted felon, Weidner cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.

This prosecution was part of 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 F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by <_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle" datavalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan" datavalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III" datavalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II" datavalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt" datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard" datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard">Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Raleigh Police Department, and Wake County Sheriff's Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Loeser 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. 5:24-CR-85-M-KS.