Member Of White Supremacist Gang: More Than 13 Years In Federal Prison For Drug Trafficking

Asheville -- U.S. Attorneys » Western District of North Carolina » News Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Avowed Member Of White Supremacist Gang Is Sentenced To More Than 13 Years In Federal Prison For Drug Trafficking
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Jonathan Ray Adams a/k/a Jon Boy, 34, of Asheville, was sentenced to 163 months in prison.  U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Adams to serve five years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

Joining U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement are Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina; Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Asheville Post of Duty; Sheriff Lowell S. Griffin of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office; and Chief Shawn Freeman of the Black Mountain Police Department.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Adams and his co-defendant, Linda Suzanne Higgins, are avowed members of the Aryan Brotherhood, which is a white supremacist gang.  Court records show that from at least January 2019 to May 2019, Adams and Higgins trafficked methamphetamine, which they obtained from a source of supply in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The co-defendants then transported the methamphetamine back to Western North Carolina, where they redistributed it to local drug networks in Henderson and Buncombe Counties, including to other members of the Aryan Brotherhood.  Over the course of the investigation, federal and local law enforcement working together seized a portion of a 38 ounce shipment of methamphetamine in Buncombe County and a portion of a 10 ounce shipment of methamphetamine in Henderson County. 

Adams and Higgins previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to posess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Higgins is currently awaiting sentencing.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office; the Black Mountain Police Department; HSI’s Henderson County Office; and the DEA’s Asheville Post of Duty for their cooperation and coordination throughout this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.