RALEIGH, N.C. – A Goldsboro, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute and Distribution of 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Robert Lee Best, 61, was named in an Indictment filed on March 12, 2020 charging him with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess With Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine from 2018 to March 12, 2020, (Count One) and Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and Aiding and Abetting (Count Two). On November 10, 2020, Best entered a plea of guilty to Count Two.
In May of 2018, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Goldsboro and the Winston-Salem Police Departments, received information that Best was part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in Goldsboro, which distributed large quantities of crystal methamphetamine and maintained several “trap houses” or “stash houses” in Goldsboro and employed runners, often times drug users, to hand deliver drugs.
Based upon the investigation law enforcement learned that Best had known the leaders of this organization for 20 years and worked in “the hole,” or “trap house” located on Slaughter Street where he distributed drugs for them. Best worked 12-hour shifts in the trap house selling narcotics for the organization. During these 12-hour shifts, two people worked each shift, an inside man and an outside man. The inside man answered the phone and prepared the drug orders. The outside man-made deliveries to the customers and served as a “lookout.” At the end of each shift, Best was responsible for delivering proceeds from the drug sales to a drop location.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Best was responsible for assisting in the distribution of 14,560 grams of cocaine and 1,507.7 grams of methamphetamine.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Goldsboro Police Department, and the Winston-Salem Police Department, investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci prosecuted the case.
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 number 5:21-CR-00198-M-1.
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