CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Ryan Rudy Elledge, 30, of Sherrills Ford, N.C., was sentenced Thursday February 6th to
seven years in prison and four years of supervised release for distributing fentanyl, announced
Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, Sheriff Donald G. Brown II of the Catawba County
Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Tyler Whisenant of the Maiden Police Department, join U.S. Attorney
King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and proceedings, law enforcement began investigating Elledge in
January 2023, for suspected fentanyl distribution in and around Catawba County. On February
17, 2023, officers executed a search warrant at Elledge’s residence, seizing more than 71 grams
of fentanyl and over $21,000 in cash. In February 2024, law enforcement began a second
investigation, after learning that Elledge was selling drugs again from his home in Newton, N.C.
On February 22, 2024, a confidential informant purchased fentanyl and other narcotics from
Elledge. The following day, officers executed a search warrant at Elledge’s residence, seizing
fentanyl and methamphetamine. Court records show that Elledge admitted to distributing more
than a kilogram of fentanyl and over 200 grams of methamphetamine.
On August 20, 2024, Elledge pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent
to distribute fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He is currently 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 King thanked the ATF, the Catawba County
Sheriff’s Office, and the Maiden Police Department for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte
prosecuted the case.
