Statesville Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years For Drug Trafficking

CHARLOTTE – A Statesville man was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on Friday for selling methamphetamine to undercover ATF agents while he was on federal supervised release for a firearms conviction.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Dena J. King announced that Russell Javon Linney, 34, was sentenced on Friday, January 17th to 135 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine.

According to court documents and court proceedings, in January of 2023, the ATF initiated an investigation into Linney’s drug trafficking activities. During the investigation, court documents show that undercover ATF agents purchased methamphetamine from Linney multiple times. During one of the drug buys, Linney sold nearly a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover ATF agent in South Carolina.
At the time, Linney was on federal supervised release for a firearms conviction in the Western District of North Carolina.

On August 8, 2024, Linney pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine. He is in federal custody.