Bloods Gang Member Sentenced: Fentanyl & Firearm Charges

Craven County, North Carolina:

A Craven County Bloods Gang Member was sentenced to more than 24 years for fentanyl and firearms possession.

A Havelock man was sentenced Friday the 12, 2024, for 295 months in prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On October 18, 2023, Xzavier Tylon Morris, pled guilty to the charges.

Xzavier Tylon MorrisPhoto byCraven County Sheriff's Office

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Morris, 27, was stopped by deputies with the Craven County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) on February 1, 2022, to serve him with outstanding warrants for breaking and entering.

During the traffic stop, deputies watched Morris and his passenger throw a bag out the window of the vehicle. The bad was recovered by officers and its contents were determined to be fentanyl.

Morris was arrested for trafficking fentanyl and placed in the Craven County Detention Center. CCSO investigators began to monitor Morris' outgoing jail calls and discovered that he was directing co-defendants Kimberly Smith and Kayakenee Oliver to move a safe containing drugs to Oliver's residence in Havelock.

In these recorded calls, Morris, Smith, and Oliver conspired to package the drugs for re-sale to a third party in order to try to raise bond money for Morris.

CCSO investigatiors were able to secure a search warrant for Oliver's residence and executed it just after midnight on February 3, 2022. During the search, detectives located a safe containing 139 grams of cocaine, 62 grams of fentanyl, 617 grams of methamphetamines, two 9mm pistols, and a digital scale.

Morris, a validated 9-3 Bloods gang member, was later interviews and admitted that the guns in the safe belonged to him and that he has been instructing Oliver and Smith how to package the drugs for sale.

Michael Easly, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan.

The Craven County Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Webb prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-CR-61-FL-1.

Updated January 11, 2024The Craven County Sheriff's Office will continuously work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to target individuals who sell and distribute illicit narcotics within Craven County and Eastern North Carolina. Our office is committed to making Craven County a safer place to work, live and raise a family.