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United States of America v. Joshua Vines
Date: 07-18-2025
Case Number: 5:24-CR-00076.
Judge: James C. Dever
Court: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (Wake County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Raleigh
Defendant's Attorney:
Click Here For The Best Raleigh, North Carolina Criminal Defense Law Lawyer Directory
Raleigh, North Carolina criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Kilo Fentanyl Trafficking
Kilo Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison
A Raleigh man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for trafficking large quantities of fentanyl throughout Eastern North Carolina. Joshua Vines, 40, admitted to conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl and pleaded guilty earlier this year.
According to court records and evidence presented at sentencing, on October 25, 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were conducting surveillance on a vehicle registered to co-defendant Nigel Gray. They observed the car parked outside a Dollar General in Elizabeth City, where a passenger and co-defendant, Omar Cardenas, exited and got into another vehicle. Both cars then left the area.
Law enforcement later stopped the vehicle, driven by Vines, in Nashville, NC. During the stop, Vines contacted Gray by phone to ask for the car's registration information. A trained K-9 alerted to the vehicle, prompting a search. Inside, officers found approximately 30,000 pills containing fentanyl or para-fluorofentanyl, with a combined weight of 1.5 kilograms, along with an additional kilogram of fentanyl powder. Vines had texted Gray that they were being detained and requested consent to search the vehicle. The group had planned to distribute the drugs in the Raleigh area.
Gray and Cardenas have already been sentenced in federal court for their roles in the conspiracy.
Vines has prior felony convictions for discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, trafficking heroin, and trafficking cocaine by transportation.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. HSI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the Raleigh Police Department, the Nashville Police Department, the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Severo and Katherine Englander prosecuted the case.
Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison
About This Case
What was the outcome of United States of America v. Joshua Vines?
The outcome was: Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison
Which court heard United States of America v. Joshua Vines?
This case was heard in The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (Wake County), NC. The presiding judge was James C. Dever.
Who were the attorneys in United States of America v. Joshua Vines?
Plaintiff's attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Raleigh. Defendant's attorney: Click Here For The Best Raleigh, North Carolina Criminal Defense Law Lawyer Directory.
When was United States of America v. Joshua Vines decided?
This case was decided on July 18, 2025.