United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina

03/19/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/19/2026 13:41

Decade-Long Drug Conspiracy Boss from Fayetteville Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison

RALEIGH, N.C. - A federal judge sentenced Rick Derrell McIntyre to 35 years in federal prison for leading a Fayetteville area drug conspiracy spanning over a decade. On May 24, 2024, Inmate McIntyre pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell and possess with intent to sell 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and selling of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

"Thanks to the dedicated and professional police work by the FPD and the FBI. We caught this Big Shark Bad Boy. He dumped deadly drugs into the Fayetteville community for too long. But never again. Sell drugs, get caught, left to rot." said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD), the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies identified Inmate McIntyre as the head of a large-scale drug trafficking organization. The investigation established that Inmate McIntyre acted as one of the most high-volume drug dealers in the Fayetteville area dating back to as early as 2012, and he coordinated with multiple co-conspirators to purchase pounds and pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and MDMA to sell in Fayetteville communities. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, Inmate McIntyre was previously convicted of conspiracy to sell cocaine in 1998.

"For years, McIntyre distributed poison into his own community. Today's federal prison sentence demonstrates the power of partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to shut down his drug dealing business for good," said Reid Davis, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.

"For years, McIntyre led a complex drug trafficking organization that dispersed dangerous unlawful controlled substances into our community. The Fayetteville Police Department is committed to utilizing our federal and state partnerships to dismantle such organizations and to hold accountable those that seek to profit from addiction and despair. The message should be loud and clear that if you traffic drugs in our community, we will identify you, arrest you, and hold you accountable." said Fayetteville Police Department.

In 2023 and 2024, investigators conducted a series of controlled purchases of highly pure methamphetamine from Inmate McIntyre and others in Fayetteville who dealt his drugs. Investigators learned during these controlled purchases that Inmate McIntyre stored drugs at his business, Fort Bragg Collision Center in Spring Lake. The controlled purchases from Inmate McIntyre and his drug dealers led to the seizure of over 3700 grams of methamphetamine bought from Atlanta, Arizona, and other out of state locations. In total, the investigation established that between 2012 and June of 2023, Inmate McIntyre was responsible for distributing over 350 pounds of methamphetamine, over 46 pounds of heroin, over 7 pounds of fentanyl, over 8 pounds of cocaine, and 4 pounds of MDMA. Investigators established that Inmate McIntyre was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of methamphetamine at a time from his out of state sources, at least one of whom was a drug trafficker operating out of Mexico.

Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The FBI and the FPD led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Caroline Webb prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North CarolinaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-184-D.

United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina published this content on March 19, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 19, 2026 at 19:41 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]