KENANSVILLE — Two Duplin County residents responsible for distributing over 300 pounds of cocaine over a three-year period were sentenced in federal court this week, with both now required to spend over a decade behind bars.

Wallace residents Jimmy Jerald Brown and Herbert Linwood Thomas, both 29, were sentenced to 11 years in jail and five years of supervision following their release. Both men previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine.

According to a press release from the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies stopped Thomas and Brown as they were attempting to arrange a drug transaction. A .357 Magnum handgun was found in the car during the stop on Jan. 24, 2008.

Thomas, reports show, also sold approximately 220 grams of crack cocaine to an undercover officer between Feb. 15 and Feb. 28, 2008. Brown, it further states, was present for three of the sales and “acted as a lookout and provided protection.”

“Thomas and Brown,” the release states, “were part of an illegal drug organization that was responsible for distributing over 150 kilograms (300 pounds) of cocaine from 2005 to 2008.

Duplin County Sheriff Blake Wallace commended deputies, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for all the hard work dedicated to the case.

“Hopefully this sends a loud message to those people who choose to sell poison to our young people that this will not be tolerated in Duplin County,” Wallace said.

“We will do everything in our power to remove these predators from our communities. We will continue to pursue those people who are involved in the illegal drug trade.”

Michael Connolly can be reached at (910) 592-8137 ext. 120 or can be emailed at sicity@intrstar.net