Raleigh Man Sentenced to 40 Years for Leadership Role in Cross-Country Drug Conspiracy

RALEIGH, N.C. - Lawrence Levon Jones, age 45, of Raleigh, was sentenced to 480 months in prison for his role as a leader of a Raleigh-based drug organization that sourced drugs from Los Angeles, California, and Newark, New Jersey. Jones was convicted by a federal jury of drug trafficking and firearms offenses in December 2023. He has eight prior felonies, including seven drug trafficking offenses and one conviction for felon in possession of a firearm.

"This operation - which seized nine guns, over a hundred kilos of narcotics, and over three-quarters of a million dollars from a prolific drug trafficker - is a perfect example of our enforcement strategy. We are partnering with Raleigh Police to bring federal tools to dismantle the trans-national drug trafficking networks touching our Capital City," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. "Jones' stored cocaine, ecstasy, and 'kilo presses' in a Raleigh stash house and had narcotics shipped across our interstates in a hidden compartment made to look like a stack of lumber on a truck. Today marks the end of the road for Lawrence Jones and his enterprise."

"Jones and his partners boldly believed they could run their cross-country drug trafficking operation from Raleigh without detection. The FBI and our law enforcement partners at the Raleigh Police Department worked tirelessly to ensure everyone involved in this conspiracy is held accountable for peddling drugs in our community," said Robert M. DeWitt, the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, during an investigation into drug trafficking activity, which included surveillance and wiretaps, agents determined that Jones regularly traveled to Los Angeles and Newark, picked up money from conspirators who were holding for him, and purchased large quantities of cocaine and marijuana. Couriers transported the drugs to the Raleigh area.

On July 22, 2020, law enforcement in Texas stopped one of these couriers traveling eastbound from California and seized 400 pounds of marijuana and three kilograms of cocaine from a hidden compartment in the back of the truck that had been constructed to look like a large stack of lumber. That same day, agents arrested Jones when he arrived at his stash house in Raleigh. Inside the home, agents found 3.5 kilograms of cocaine, 138 grams of crack, 2 kilograms of marijuana, hundreds of ecstasy pills that contained methamphetamine, two handguns (one stolen), over $99,000 in cash, and five-kilo presses. Over the next two days, agents executed multiple search warrants at homes used by Jones's organization in Raleigh and California and seized nine guns, over $757,000, and additional drugs.

The prosecution of Jones was a part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation (OCDETF). 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.

Other defendants associated with Jones pled guilty to drug trafficking and or firearms offenses and received the following sentences imposed by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III:

-Tyrone Bragg, of Raleigh, pled guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and firearms charges and received a sentence of 168 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release;

-Calvin Lamar Kelley, of Keysville, Georgia, pled guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release;

-Wesley Kimball Kelly, of Atlanta, Georgia, pled guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of 35 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release;

-Keishron Ko-She Kilpatrick, of Raleigh, pled guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and firearms charges and received a sentence of 84 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release;

-Marquis Deja Brite, of Raleigh, pled guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and firearms charges and received a sentence of 90 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release;

-Hurley Matthew Cannady, of Raleigh, pled guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and firearms charges and received a sentence of 117 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release;

-David Earl Seawell, Jr., of Raleigh, North Carolina, pled guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy charges and received a sentence of 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and

-Robert McNeal, of Raleigh, pled guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced the defendant. The Raleigh Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Peaden and Nick Hartigan prosecuted it. Investigators also received valuable assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the 32nd Judicial District Attorney's Office in Texas.

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.5:20-cr-00388-D-1.