Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CHARLOTTE, NC - Today, Chief Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Davion Junior Gales, age 29, of West Jefferson, North Carolina, to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine, money laundering conspiracy, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by Nick Annan, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas; Dewey “Craig” Chillcott, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division; and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to filed documents and statements made in court, beginning some time in or about 2013 to December 2013, Gales was part of a drug conspiracy that trafficked cocaine and crack cocaine in Mecklenburg County and elsewhere. Court records show that Gales was involved in numerous drug transactions involving multiple kilograms of cocaine. For example, according to court records, on December 2, 2013, Gales paid $75,020 in cash as part of a purchase of approximately $500,000 worth of cocaine. Two days later, on December 4, 2013, Gales provided another $85,000 in cash toward the cocaine purchase, and another $50,005 the following day. Court records show that during one of the drug transactions, Gales possessed a firearm. Court records also show that Gales used drug proceeds to buy expensive vehicles, among other things.

On December 9, 2013, Gales was arrested and law enforcement seized more than two kilograms of cocaine, a firearm, and approximately $118,000 in cash. According to court records, Gales was trafficking some of his cocaine as crack cocaine.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that has resulted in the conviction of more than 35 defendants on cocaine and crack cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and firearms charges. OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

Gales was initially charged by complaint on December 4, 2013, indicted by a federal grand jury on December 19, 2013. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on December 9, 2013.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rose commended HSI, ATF, and CMPD for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Gales. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kaufman is handling the continuing prosecution of this OCDETF operation.

United States v. Gales; Case Numbers 3:13-mj-332; 3:13-mj-333; 3:13-cr-332-FDW.

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