RALEIGH — A 33-year-old Lumberton man faces up to life in prison after Being fond guilty of multiple drug charges in U.S. District Court.
James Calvin Breeden was convicted during a one-day trial Wednesday that was presided over by Senior United States District Judge James Earl Britt, according to a statement from Robert J. Higdon Jr., United States attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. A jury found Breeden guilty of possession with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, or crack, and a quantity of cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
When Breeden is sentenced on June 1, he faces a term of 10 years to life in prison.
According to Higdon, evidence presented during the trial showed that Breeden, a convicted felon, was a passenger in a vehicle on March 22, 2017, that was stopped by officers with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office as they were attempting to serve an outstanding warrant. When officers approached the vehicle, they saw Breeden in possession of a Crown Royal bag that contained about 80 grams of crack cocaine and 38 grams of cocaine. He also had a loaded handgun inside his waistband.
The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated the case, and Assistant United States attorneys Chad Rhoades and Erin Blondel prosecuted it.
