ASHEVILLE, N.C. (FOX Carolina) – The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina announced that a convicted drug trafficker from Candler was sentenced on Thursday.
Grey Alan Hester, 50, was sentenced to 21 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug and gun charges.
According to records filed in the case, Hester trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl in Buncombe and Jackson counties from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents show that on July 11, 2023, officers with the Cherokee Indian Police Department discovered Hester attempting to use a fake identification card at Harrah’s Casino. During the encounter, officers seized from Hester more than $11,380, fentanyl, and a loaded pistol from a holster on Hester’s hip. The officers later searched Hester’s backpacks that contained fentanyl, meth, a pistol with an affixed machinegun conversion kit or a “Glock Switch,” a 30-round extended magazine loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia…