Convicted Drug Trafficker Armed With Machinegun Is Sentenced To 21 Years In Prison (DOJ)

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Grey Alan Hester, 50, of Candler, N.C. was sentenced on Thursday, December 11, 2025, to 21 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug and gun charges, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, Sheriff Quentin Miller of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, and Chief Carla Neadeau of the Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD), join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.

According to records filed in the case, from 2021 to 2023, Hester trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl in Buncombe and Jackson Counties. Court documents show that on July 11, 2023, Cherokee Indian Police Department officers encountered Hester who was attempting to use a fake identification card at Harrah's Casino. During the encounter, officers seized from Hester more than $11,380, fentanyl, and a loaded pistol from a holster on Hester's hip. The officers later searched Hester's backpacks that contained quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, a pistol with an affixed machinegun conversion kit, known as a "Glock Switch," a 30-round extended magazine loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia. According to court records, on July 14, 2023, law enforcement conducted a search of Hester's Buncombe Country home, where they found fentanyl, methamphetamine, a stolen pistol, a semi-automatic shotgun, a rifle, an AR-style 5.56 rifle (privately made firearm), and multiple rounds of ammunition. Hester has a prior felony conviction, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On June 20, 2025, Hester pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a machine gun. He is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today's announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the DEA, ATF, Cherokee Indian Police Department, and the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville handled the prosecution.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).