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Asheville Man Sentenced to 135 Months for Fentanyl Distribution

A U.S. Attorney's Office announcement dated August 14, 2026 says Sadiq Mafia Devoe Jones was sentenced the day before to 135 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 11:24 a.m. ET
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This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

More on this incident

A news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina, dated August 14, 2026, states that Sadiq Mafia Devoe Jones, 24, of Asheville, was the previous day to 135 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distributing fentanyl. The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The release also states that "Jones's 10-year sentence will run at the expiration of his federal probation sentence for violating his probation" β€” the record's description of the sentence length is not consistent on this point, and is reproduced here as written. According to the same release, court documents and proceedings show that in August 2025 law enforcement learned Jones was part of a drug ring distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine and firearms in Buncombe County, and that he was on federal supervised release for a prior conviction for illegally possessing a firearm. On multiple occasions during the investigation, the release says, an undercover agent purchased over 139 grams of fentanyl and over 26 grams of methamphetamine from Jones or others working for him, and during at least one transaction Jones used a juvenile to sell fentanyl to the undercover agent. The office said Jones is in federal custody and will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation to a federal facility. "Shortly after Jones was released from federal prison he returned to a life of crime and drug dealing," Ferguson said in the release. "Fentanyl kills, and we are committed to eliminating this deadly drug that ravages communities and destroys families." Ferguson thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Asheville Police Department, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville prosecuted the case, which the release identifies as part of Operation Take Back America.

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Revision history

  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 15:22current

    First published.

  2. Version 115 Aug 2026, 15:17current

    First published.

  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 15:24current

    First published.

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