Burke County Man Gets Nearly Twenty-Years In Prison

42-year old Jessie Alan Clark, listed as a resident of Burke County, was sentenced Thursday, April 18th to 235 months (19 years, seven months) in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug and gun charges. The announcement was made by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Sheriff Banks Hinceman of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office was among those joining U.S. Attorney King in making Thursday’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, in February 2022, investigators with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office and agents with the DEA determined that Clark was engaged in the distribution of methamphetamine in the area. On February 15, 2022, law enforcement observed a truck attempting to evade detection by law enforcement and began to follow the vehicle. While they followed the vehicle, law enforcement observed a backpack being tossed out of the passenger side of the truck and proceeded to pull over the vehicle.

Clark was the driver of the truck, and another individual was a passenger. Over the course of the traffic stop, law enforcement searched Clark, the passenger, the truck, and the backpack that had been tossed from the vehicle. Officers seized $10,499 in U.S. currency, two gallon-sized bags containing methamphetamine, and a loaded Taurus .38 caliber revolver with six rounds of ammunition. Clark is a convicted felon, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On August 21, 2023, Clark pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Clark will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

In making the announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the DEA and the Burke County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

Story: Rob Eastwood-WHKY