Les Corey Peak, 38, of Flat Rock, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Court records indicate that between 2021 and 2023, Peak coordinated with Zachery Micah Rice and others to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl across Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties while he was incarcerated in the Georgia Department of Corrections. Using contraband phones from inside prison, Peak worked with an Atlanta-based supplier to organize bulk drug purchases. He then coordinated with Rice for pickups. Rice transported the drugs back to Western North Carolina where they were distributed through a local network.
During one transaction arranged by Peak, law enforcement stopped Rice’s vehicle and seized over 11.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, a .40 caliber pistol modified with a machinegun conversion device known as a “Glock switch,” and more than $32,683 in cash. Further investigations led authorities to search stash houses and a storage unit used by Rice; there they found kilogram quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine supplied by the Atlanta source, multiple firearms including high-capacity magazines ammunition, digital scales, drug paraphernalia related to distribution activities, and more than $27,470 in cash.
Peak pleaded guilty on June 23, 2025, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He remains in federal custody awaiting placement at a designated facility by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Zachery Micah Rice was previously sentenced in May 2025 to more than 28 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed appreciation for the efforts of numerous agencies involved: “In making today’s announcement,” he said, “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.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess prosecuted this case.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative that brings together resources from across the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration-related crime as well as targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
