Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced GEORGE HADDEN, 36, of Fayetteville, North Carolina to 240 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. HADDEN was sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal.

HADDEN was named in an Indictment filed on August 14, 2018, charging him with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. On November 14, 2018, HADDEN pled guilty.

According to the investigation, on April 15, 2018, HADDEN was observed in suspected drug distribution activity. A traffic stop of HADDEN’s vehicle revealed nineteen grams of heroin, which was packaged for distribution, and a stolen handgun. HADDEN is a multiple-time convicted felon.

That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors 2

to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Lucy Partain represented the government.

# # #

News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s webpage at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce.