GREENSBORO – A Mecklenburg County man was sentenced today in Greensboro to 228 months for drug trafficking and firearm offenses that occurred in Cabarrus County, within the Middle District of North Carolina.
According to court documents, Montwon Lashawn Moss, 45, and his co-defendant Brittany Autumn Sandefur were arrested on March 12, 2021, after a cooperator ordered an ounce-and-a-half of methamphetamine from Sandefur and her supplier Moss. They agreed to meet at a location in Concord to conduct the sale. Moss drove Sandefur to the deal and when they arrived, they were arrested by officers with the Concord Police Department.
Upon searching Moss’s vehicle, officers located a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol on the floorboard and bags containing suspected methamphetamine weighing more than 110 grams. The firearm was later determined to have been reported stolen. Additional bags containing smaller amounts of suspected cocaine hydrochloride, MDMA, cocaine base, marihuana, alprazolam, and trazadone were also located in the vehicle. Later forensic testing of the suspected methamphetamine confirmed that Moss possessed at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.
Following his arrest, Moss admitted he knew he was a felon. As a felon, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Moss was previously convicted in March 2008 of the federal felony offenses possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. He was also previously convicted in August 1994 of the state felony second degree murder, in the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Moss pled guilty on June 8, 2022 in federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of felon in possession of a firearm based on his March 12, 2021 conduct. Accordingly, Moss was sentenced today to 228 months of imprisonment, ten years of supervised release, and $200 in special assessments. Sandefur is set for sentencing in October, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sandra Hairston made the announcement, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Principe. The Concord Police Department, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives assisted with the investigation.
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