Narcotics trafficker sentenced to 50 years

A high-volume cocaine supplier to lower-level drug dealers in the Rocky Mount area who had once fired shots at a person has been ordered to serve 50 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm by a felon, authorities said.

Andre Downey, 37, was sentenced July 8 by U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever III in a federal court in Raleigh, according to online court records.

A news release issued last week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Downey was arrested in September 2023 on federal drug charges.

Investigators in 2021 identified Downey as a narcotics trafficker and said that Downey was responsible for distributing more than 130 pounds of cocaine and more than a pound and a half of crack cocaine from 2021 until his arrest on the federal charges.

Additionally, after his arrest, Downey made more than 600 calls from jail within his first month of being in custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated in its news release.

Federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives task force officers, in reviewing the calls from jail, learned that Downey was discussing plans to restart his illegal drug activity following his release and managing his drug trafficking organization’s continued drug sales while in custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

Additionally, task force officers said that Downey in making those calls from jail was orchestrating the use of violence against other drug traffickers who owed him money, the news release said.

During an investigation in 2021, law enforcement officers reported that Downey had multiple stash houses that he used to distribute cocaine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

In December 2021, a search of one of the houses resulted in the discovery of cocaine, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia, along with nearly $3,000 cash on Downey, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

By spring 2022, investigators had information indicating Downey had resumed selling drugs out of a stash house off Buena Vista Avenue in the Southeast Rocky Mount area of the city, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

And in July 2022, police officers responded to an emergency call at a local convenience store where footage from the store’s surveillance camera showed Downey had discharged a firearm, shooting through the front door of the store at a person in the parking lot.

Officers later collected a 9mm handgun from Downey that matched 9 mm shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

Downey already had a 2009 federal conviction on his record for having conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute nearly two ounces or more of crack cocaine.

Downey served five years and 10 months for that offense and another nine months because he violated the terms of his supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Michael Easley, in prepared remarks as part of the news release issued last week, said that this high-volume drug dealer, who previously served a federal sentence for trafficking cocaine, quickly returned to a life of crime after being released from prison.

“When arrested again, this time facing drug distribution and illegal gun charges, he sought to continue his criminal activities, including threatening the use of violence towards many individuals,” Easley said.

“His plan was foiled and now he’s facing the next five decades behind bars,” Easley said.

Rocky Mount police Chief Robert Hassell, in prepared remarks as part of the news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said that the outcome of Downey’s repeated offenses in disregard for the law goes to show that drugs, guns and violent crimes are not going to be tolerated.

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone, whose office also investigated the case, in a phone interview last week, said that Easley has taken an interest in putting bad actors behind bars.

“And some of these people do not need to be in the streets,” Stone said. “Communities are unsafe when you have gun violence and drug traffickers bringing this poison into the communities — and they need to be dealt with harshly.”