{"id":56988,"date":"2024-07-11T19:47:33","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T02:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=56988"},"modified":"2024-07-11T19:47:33","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T02:47:33","slug":"drug-trafficker-who-intimidated-witnesses-sentenced-to-40-years-in-federal-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=56988","title":{"rendered":"Drug Trafficker Who Intimidated Witnesses Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Raleigh, N.C.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-22946 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Courtroom-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"428\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Courtroom-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Courtroom.png 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 428px) 100vw, 428px\" \/>Ahmad Rashad McClain, a\/k\/a \u201cWop,\u201d a longtime resident of Raleigh, was sentenced to 480 months in prison for trafficking heroin after attempting to intimidate witnesses. On June 8, 2022, Ahmad Rashad McClain pled guilty to two counts of drug trafficking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u201cTampering with witnesses and attempted intimidation is a sure-fire way to extend your stay in federal prison,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. \u201cHeroin traffickers like McClain drive addiction in our city and will do anything to dodge accountability. We are turbocharging our partnership with the Raleigh Police Department to get these dangerous narcotics \u2013 and those who supply them \u2013 off the streets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-41105 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"West Virginia Woman Took Top Secrets, Committed Kidnapping\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg 684w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>According to court evidence, McClain, age 47, was identified by the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) in late 2021 as a major heroin distributor in the Raleigh area. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">This conclusion was based on physical and electronic surveillance, the use of confidential informants, and witness statements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0On June 8, 2022, a traffic stop was made on a vehicle driven by McClain, who was later transported to his residence, where a search warrant was executed. McClain was found to be in possession of heroin mixed with protonitazene and marijuana, various drug paraphernalia, and over $15,000 in cash.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">As part of the investigation, witnesses provided RPD with information demonstrating that McClain was accountable for distributing over 24,000 grams of heroin over a two-year period.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The Government argued for and received an enhanced sentence because McClain was found to be intimidating witnesses before sentencing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">In five calls recorded between March 1 and March 29, McClain directed an associate to contact two confidential informants expected to provide evidence at his sentencing hearing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Although McClain and the associate used code, it was clear from the calls that McClain was directing him to approach or have someone else approach, the witnesses to ensure they did not testify, discussing during the calls that the Government could not tie drug weight to him without their testimony.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">In one call, McClain directed the associate to \u201c\u2026shut them arcade games off.\u201d In another, McClain said, \u201cYeah, without they testimony, they\u2026 can\u2019t do s#!@\u2026\u201d The associate confirmed, \u201cYou ain\u2019t got to worry about seeing them anyway\u2026\u201d In many of the calls, the associate confirmed that he or one of his \u201cboys\u201d had made contact with the witnesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-justify\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0The Raleigh Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey L. Peaden\u00a0 prosecuted the case.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Raleigh, N.C.\u00a0 Ahmad Rashad McClain, a\/k\/a \u201cWop,\u201d a longtime resident of Raleigh, was sentenced to 480 months in prison for trafficking heroin after attempting to intimidate witnesses. On June 8, 2022, Ahmad&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Drug Trafficker Who Intimidated Witnesses Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Raleigh, N.C.\u00a0 Ahmad Rashad McClain, a\/k\/a \u201cWop,\u201d a longtime resident of Raleigh, was sentenced to 480 months in prison for trafficking heroin after\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=56988\" 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