NEW BERN, N.C. – Timothy Mark Blackmon, a 29-year-old resident of Burgaw, has been sentenced to 198 months in prison for possessing and intending to distribute counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl in the Wilmington area. The counterfeit pills were designed to mimic prescription drugs such as Percocet, Hydrocodone, and Oxycodone. Blackmon pled guilty on August 15, 2023.
"Counterfeit pills laced with deadly fentanyl are made in makeshift labs with no quality control. They are driving American addiction and overdoses at a staggering rate," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.
"Never take a pill that wasn’t prescribed by your doctor. It could be your last. This defendant hid fentanyl pills in a bag of M&Ms and stashed thousands of pills in air vents in his home. The DEA and Pender County Sheriff’s Office did incredible work getting these pills off the street and may have saved lives."
Court documents and other information presented in court revealed that law enforcement received information in November 2021 indicating that Blackmon was distributing counterfeit fentanyl pills throughout the Wilmington area.
An investigation began, and it was discovered that Blackmon traveled to California to purchase the pills, which he then shipped back to the Eastern District of North Carolina via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for further distribution.
On November 18, 2021, law enforcement located Blackmon at the San Diego Airport as he was preparing to board a plane to return to North Carolina. He was found in possession of a counterfeit fentanyl pill, more than $7,000 in cash, and a USPS receipt for a package shipped on November 16, 2021, destined for Wilmington, N.C.
The package was found to contain over five thousand counterfeit fentanyl pills hidden among toys and candy, including some pills concealed in a bag of candy.
On November 19, 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Pender County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Blackmon’s residence. They seized over 11,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills hidden in air vents in his bedroom, over $87,000 in cash, and a small amount of cocaine.
Flight records confirmed Blackmon made repeated trips to California and Arizona from March 2021 to November 2021, traveling approximately once a month to purchase 5,000-10,000 fentanyl pills for shipment back to North Carolina. A DEA analysis confirmed the presence of fentanyl in the pills seized during the search.
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