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Johnson City Man Gets 216 Months in Prison for Drugs

August 31, 2012 Department of Justice
United States Attorney William C. Killian Eastern District of Tennessee
Johnson City Resident Sentenced On Crack Cocaine Conspiracy Charges

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - On August 31, 2012, Willie Steven Carter, 28, of Johnson City, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 216 months in prison for his participation in a drug trafficking organization responsible for the distribution of large quantities of crack cocaine in Johnson City. Upon his release from prison Carter will serve 12 years supervised release. He was sentenced as a career offender based upon his two prior felony drug convictions.

Evidence in the case showed that Carter and other co-conspirators traveled to Rome, Ga., and Knoxville, Tenn., to purchase large amounts of cocaine. Upon returning to Johnson City, the cocaine was cooked into crack cocaine and sold by various co-conspirators, including but not limited to: Carter, Kayla Buchanan, 28, Hiram McGirt, 42, Carlton Waite, 40, Dustin Rollins, 33, Jarrod Baxter, 33, and Kimberly Bowen, 27, all of Johnson City.

All have now been sentenced for their role in the conspiracy. Most of the crack cocaine was sold to customers from residences on Park Avenue and Oak Grove Road in Johnson City. A search warrant executed at a residence occupied by Buchanan, McGirt and Carter in October 2010 resulted in the seizure of over 60 grams of crack cocaine and several sets of digital scales.

The Johnson City Police Department Vice Squad was the primary law enforcement agency responsible for the indictment and subsequent conviction of Carter and others involved in this conspiracy. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Whittemore and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.