Man sentenced on drug charges

A Catawba man will serve an active prison sentence of six to eight years following his conviction for trafficking opiates by transportation during Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday, February 4, 2020.

Ellis Eugene Anderson, 58, was given the prison term by the Honorable Gregory R. Hayes, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, after he pleaded guilty to the offense. Anderson also will have to pay a mandatory fine of $50,000.

The defendant will serve his period of incarceration in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.

“This office remains committed to keeping our communities safe and continuing to aggressively prosecute those who distribute and sell drugs in Catawba County,” Assistant District Attorney Jessica Phillips said.

Anderson was the driver of a vehicle stopped for a fictitious tag in Conover on May 19, 2017. According to the law enforcement report, he tried to exit the vehicle and could not find documentation for it.

He admitted to the officer that he had used and sold drugs earlier that day. Additionally, he told officers he had methamphetamine and oxycodone in the vehicle, pointing out where it was in the vehicle.

Oxycodone pills were found in the vehicle, and an analysis by the State Crime Lab confirmed them as opiates.

Sgt. A.P. Balchev of the Conover Police Department handled the investigation. Phillips prosecuted the case for the State.