Eastern District of North Carolina | Federal jury convicts Wayne County methamphetamine dealer

NEW BERN, NC – A federal grand jury has convicted a Man from Goldsboro on three counts of trafficking methamphetamine. Tamarcus Shaquan Ellis, 34, faces a possible life sentence when he is sentenced in December.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began investigating Ellis in early 2021 as part of an operation targeting crystal meth dealers operating in Goldsboro and Jacksonville. By late March 2021, the ATF had arrested several high-profile methamphetamine dealers and began targeting Ellis’ drug trafficking organization.

Over several months in the spring of 2021, investigators used a confidential source to make controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Ellis’ organization. Due to the number of arrests of other methamphetamine dealers in February and March 2021, Ellis took great care to avoid direct involvement in the drug transactions. In addition to counter-surveilling purchase locations for law enforcement presence, Ellis also made last-minute changes to the purchase location to minimize the risk of detection. Ellis also used low-level subordinates within his organization to deliver the drugs while he closely monitored the drug deal. The subordinates testified at trial that Ellis provided them with drugs to deliver to the confidential source.

Ellis was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fifty (50) grams or more of methamphetamine and two counts of distributing five (5) grams or more of methamphetamine.

This investigation was an investigation of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by utilizing a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan accepted the verdict. The ATF and ATF Task Force agents from the Goldsboro Police Department and the Jacksonville Police Department investigated the case and assistant U.S. attorneys Nick Hartigan and Dennis Duffy the case continued.

A copy of this press release can be found on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:21-CR-273-FL.