Michael Lindsey Jones, 39, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger. The announcement was made by 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 in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. Law enforcement used a confidential informant during their investigation to purchase pound quantities of methamphetamine from Rice with coordination from Jones. According to court documents, Jones arranged drug deals, set meeting times and locations with the informant, and managed the drug-for-cash exchanges. From February to April 2023 alone, he was responsible for distributing nearly 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Jones pleaded guilty on December 30, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting its distribution.
He remains in custody under the U.S. Marshals Service while awaiting placement by the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Russ Ferguson thanked multiple agencies for their work on 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 Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina for their investigation of this case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess prosecuted this case.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative led by the Department of Justice—which focuses on combating illegal immigration as well as eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations through resources like Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
