James Edward Frady, 39, from Brevard, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 130 months in prison and five years of supervised release for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation distributing methamphetamine and cocaine in Transylvania County. The sentencing was announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Court records show that between 2021 and 2023, Frady participated in a network that distributed methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine across Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. Investigators found that Frady regularly communicated with his supplier, Zachery Micah Rice, to purchase drugs which he then distributed locally.
Frady was arrested on October 19, 2023, by deputies from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office during a traffic stop. During the stop, officers recovered two plastic baggies containing 90.79 grams of methamphetamine and 56.51 grams of cocaine from the passenger of the vehicle. According to court documents, Frady had asked the passenger to hide the drugs before being pulled over.
He pleaded guilty on February 21, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. He is currently held by the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting placement by the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Zachery Micah Rice was previously sentenced to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges including conspiracy to possess methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of a firearm by a felon; and possession of a machinegun.
Russ Ferguson acknowledged multiple agencies for their work on this 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 the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina for their investigation of the case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess handled prosecution duties for this case.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America—a national initiative that uses resources from both Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) within the Department of Justice—to address illegal immigration issues as well as eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
