ASHEVILLE, NC – Friday — A North Carolina man convicted in a coast-to-coast meth trafficking conspiracy was sentenced to nearly 25 years in federal prison after prosecutors tied him to a multi-state operation that funneled pounds of methamphetamine from Texas to the Appalachian foothills.
Keith Ryan Noles, 44, of Marble, was sentenced Thursday to 296 months in prison and five years of supervised release following his conviction on multiple federal drug and firearm charges. The lengthy sentence follows a 2024 jury verdict that found Noles and his co-defendant, Tina Hill, 47, guilty of distributing meth and conspiring to traffic the drug throughout Western North Carolina.
According to trial evidence, more than eight pounds of methamphetamine were intercepted by authorities in Texas during the investigation. Prosecutors said that shipment was intended for delivery to Noles and Hill, who operated from a home in Marble. Authorities testified that couriers tied to their drug supplier made repeated trips between Texas and North Carolina between 2020 and 2021, bringing meth and collecting bulk cash payments in return.
Following the Texas drug seizure, agents coordinated a controlled delivery to the pair’s residence. Noles was arrested shortly after arriving at the site to receive the shipment. Hill was apprehended later at the home.
Noles was additionally convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a charge that further increased his sentence. Court records did not specify what type of firearm was involved.
Hill was also found guilty at trial but has not yet been sentenced.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Andrews Police Department, and the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
Noles will serve his sentence in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
