Methamphetamine Supplier Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Today, Jordan Marquis Cantrell, 32, of Sherrills Ford, N.C., was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking kilogram quantities of methamphetamine, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to information in filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, from 2023 to 2025, Cantrell was distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in Burke and McDowell Counties. During the investigation, investigators determined that Cantrell supplied kilogram quantities of methamphetamine to a network of local drug distributors for further distribution into the community. Law enforcement utilized an individual cooperating with law enforcement to conduct multiple drug buys with Cantrell. Court records show that, in total, Cantrell was accountable for distributing over 71 kilograms of methamphetamine, and that he used his residence to store and sell drugs.

Cantrell previously pleaded guilty to the charges, conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, on June 23, 2025. 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 Hickory Police Department, and the McDowell 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.