Armed Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 20 Years for Distributing Methamphetamine, Possessing a Machinegun, and Other Charges

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - An armed drug trafficker was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for distributing methamphetamine, possessing a machegun, and other offenses, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. William Chase Pate, 39, of Morganton, N.C., was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after he completes his 20-year prison term.

"This case is a classic example of how drug dealing and firearm violence go hand-in-hand," said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson, "and we will use federal charges to take violent drug dealers off the street."

According to filed court documents, from 2023 to 2024, Pate was involved in a conspiracy involving the distribution of methamphetamine in Burke and Catawba Counties. During the investigation, Pate sold methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement at least 12 times. On December 12, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Pate's residence, seizing over 472 grams of methamphetamine, a rifle, a handgun loaded with 16 rounds of ammunition, two digital scales, clear plastic baggies with residue, and firearm accessories. Law enforcement interviewed Pate who said he would frequently travel to Georgia to purchase methamphetamine from his supplier, and that he would pick up between two and five kilograms of methamphetamine a time. Investigators also found two videos on Patel's seized phone, depicting the defendant firing a firearm that had been converted to a machinegun with a conversion device commonly known as a "Glock switch." Pate has a prior felony conviction for manslaughter, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On December 17, 2025, Pate pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of a machinegun, and possession of a firearm by a felon. 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Burke County Sheriff's Office, the Morganton Department of Public Safety, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Hickory Police Department, and the Catawba County Sheriff's Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Christopher S. Hess of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

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.