Michael Lindsey Jones, 39, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for methamphetamine trafficking. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger, according to Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Jones’s supplier, Zachery Micah Rice, had previously received a sentence of more than 28 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Court records indicate that between 2021 and 2023, Jones conspired with Rice to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine across Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. Law enforcement utilized a confidential informant during their investigation to purchase pound quantities of methamphetamine from Rice in transactions coordinated by Jones. Records show that Jones arranged drug deals by setting meeting times and locations with the informant and managing the exchanges.
From February to April 2023, Jones was responsible for distributing nearly 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty on December 30, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine.
Jones remains in custody with the U.S. Marshals Service as he awaits placement by the federal Bureau of Prisons.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson acknowledged several agencies for their roles in investigating the case: “In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, the Asheville Police Department, the Waynesville Police Department, the Cherokee Indian Police Department, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina for their investigation of the case.”
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess from Asheville.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative using resources from multiple Department of Justice programs including Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)—which focuses on combating illegal immigration-related crime as well as eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
