Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III sentenced JAMES DANIEL MCKOY, 54 from Garland, North Carolina, to 210 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. JAMES MCKOY was part of a violent drug trafficking organization operating in Sampson County.

On February 5, 2018, JAMES MCKOY pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess With Intent to Distribute 5 Kilograms of More of Cocaine, 280 Grams of More of Cocaine Base (Crack), a Quantity of Marijuana, and a Quantity of Heroin; three-counts of Distribution of a Quantity of Cocaine Base while Aiding and Abetting Another; Distribution of a Quantity of Cocaine Base; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking Crime; two-counts of Distribution of 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base while Aiding and Abetting Another; and Distribution of 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base and a Quantity of Heroin while Aiding and Abetting Another.

In December 2013, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) in Clinton, North Carolina, identified a drug-trafficking organization (DTO) led by Antonio Kevin McKoy. This investigation confirmed that within the Eastern District of North Carolina, the DTO distributed significant quantities of marijuana, cocaine, cocaine base (crack), heroin, prescription pain pills, and firearms throughout Eastern North Carolina from at least 2007 until late September 2016. Antonio McKoy utilized dozens of individuals, including his uncle, JAMES MCKOY, to build and sustain this DTO’s operation. Antonio McKoy was convicted in Federal Court on May 22, 2018 following a jury trial and is currently awaiting sentencing.

The investigation utilized a myriad of techniques and tools to gather extensive evidence about the DTO. The collected evidence confirmed Antonio McKoy maintained multiple residences in the Garland, North Carolina, area from where cocaine, crack, heroin, methamphetamine, and prescription pills were stored, packaged, distributed or supplied to others for distribution. These residences were also utilized to manufacture cocaine into crack. JAMES MCKOY’S residence in Garland was utilized for these purposes.

The investigation determined the JAMES MCKOY was accountable for a total of 226.8 grams of marijuana, 31.5 grams of cocaine, 912.395 grams of crack and 225.2 grams of heroin. He is also accountable for possession of a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activity.

The case is a federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) criminal matter being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, U.S. Probation Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the North Carolina Departments of Revenue and Emergency Management. Assistant United States Attorneys Brad Knott and Toby Lathan prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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