N.C. man gets 12-year sentence for cocaine distribution

By Gabriella Souza
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 7, 2012

MANTEO, N.C.

A federal court sentenced a 45-year-old Elwood Cephus today to 12 years in prison for distribution of three kilograms of cocaine.

Cephus pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 or more grams of cocaine, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Along with the prison term, he received four years of supervised release, which he will serve after his prison term.

According to the press release, Cephus participated in three cocaine buys with Dare County sheriff's deputies between April and May 2010. Then in March 2011, the sheriff's office's narcotics unit pulled Cephus over and discovered crack cocaine in his car.

Further investigation revealed that for the past two years, Cephus had been involved in distributing more than three kilograms of cocaine, the press release said.

Cephus' arrest was part of an operation involving several local law enforcement departments as well as North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cephus is one of 10 people sentenced as part of the operation, the press release said.

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