Two Duplin County residents have been sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy charges — one said to be the leader of a cocaine ring that brought 300 pounds of the drug into the county; the other taken down as part of a federal crime operation targeting Mexican-made methamphetamine.

James Lamont Boney, 25, was sentenced to 16 and a half years in prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. Boney pleaded guilty to the charges in October and was sentenced Tuesday.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the drug investigation included numerous controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Boney and other co-conspirators. Investigators with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and Duplin County Sheriff’s Department identified Boney as the leader of an extensive drug operation in the county.

Boney, federal authorities noted, was the leader of a criminal conspiracy that involved more than five participants and was responsible for the distribution of more than 150 kilograms (300 pounds) of cocaine — 90 kilograms of crack cocaine, 60 kilograms of powder cocaine — and in excess of 450 grams of marijuana around the county.

“This organization distributed more than 300 pounds of cocaine during a three-year period,” U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding stated in a press release announcing Boney’s sentencing. “The elimination of these traffickers is an important step in our effort to deal with our district’s drug problem.”

Two other Wallace residents, Jimmy Jerald Brown and Herbert Linwood Thomas, both 29, were each sentenced to 11 years in jail last month following pleas on the same charge. Authorities said they were part of an organization responsible for distributing 300 pounds of cocaine in Duplin from 2005 to 2008, a ring headed by Boney.

Boney’s prison sentence will be followed by five years supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The court also imposed restitution in the amount of $9,900.

Woman sentenced

in ‘Fire Ants’ case

In a separate case, a Wallace woman has begun serving a five-year prison term for meth distribution after being sentenced in federal court last month.

Laura Sue Jones, 41, of Wallace, was sentenced to 60 months in the N.C. Department of Corrections for possessing with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Jones pleaded guilty to the charge in November.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, sheriff’s investigators executed search warrants at Jones’ residence on N.C. 41 South, Wallace, on two separate occasions in September 2007 and January 2008. During both searches, detectives found quantities of methamphetamine.

In March 2008, the SBI executed a third search warrant at Jones’ residence.

That search resulted in the discovery of approximately 41 grams of methamphetamine and a handgun, and Jones was subsequently arrested.

Jones was sentenced as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation entitled “Fire Ants,” investigating multi-level dealers and importers of Mexican-made methamphetamine in and around Duplin and Jones counties, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The Beulaville Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration out of Wilmington assisted in the case against Jones.

Holding said the case, and Jones’ subsequent sentencing, was the result of a cooperative effort between state and federal authorities to address the issue of meth coming into the United States.

“While we’ve seen a transformation in the methamphetamine supply system in the last few years — a change from locally made meth to that supplied by South and Central American organizations — meth trafficking and use continues to be a significant problem in our communities,” said Holding.

As with Boney, Jones’ sentence will be followed by five years supervised release.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.