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Accused drug dealers convicted
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Published: June 19, 2009
Two men were convicted in U.S. District Court of drug conspiracy charges, and the two were part of a much larger group dealing cocaine in southern Iredell County.
Eric Wilford Morrison, 32, of Troutman and Samuel Juvon Bowens, 34, of Mooresville were convicted by a federal jury in Statesville.
Morrison and Bowens were convicted of conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine and five kilograms of cocaine powder.
Bowens was also convicted of three separate counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
Both face sentencing at a later date and could face long terms in a federal prison.
Lt. David Ramsey of the Iredell County Sheriff's Office said Bowens and Morrison were two of 23 people indicted in the case.
Of that number, 21 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted and two are fugitives, Ramsey said.
Sheriff Phil Redmond said this trial concluded a lengthy investigation into the distribution of cocaine in southern Iredell County and Rowan County.
He said the operation centered around the Shinnville community.
Testimony in the weeklong trial indicated that Bowens was distributing large amounts of crack cocaine in the Shinnville and Mooresville areas, Redmond said.
The trial included testimony from 31 witnesses, including co-defendants, law enforcement officers with the sheriff's office, the Mooresville and Salisbury police departments and various experts with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.
A representative from General Electric, who holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, was also called to testify about the use of the ion mobility spectrometer, a piece of equipment used to identify drugs.
Testimony, Redmond said, showed Morrison was obtaining kilogram quantities of cocaine and distributing it through various other co-defendants.
Redmond said he was pleased with the outcome of the trial and the amount of work that went into the investigation.
He said he is particularly pleased for those living in the Shinnville community.
"This cleared up a big drug problem in one neighborhood in the southern end of Iredell County," Redmond said.
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