Man sentenced to prison for trafficking drugs, ordered to pay $53K fine

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A man pleaded guilty to trafficking drugs in the Wilmington area in court on Thursday.

The Honorable Judge Frank Jones sentenced Eric Black to more than five years in prison and ordered that he pay a $53,000 fine as required by statute.

Eric Black (Photo: via DA’s Office)

According to the District Attorney’s office, detectives with the New Hanover County Vice and Narcotics Unit began an investigation into Black last summer. Detectives learned that Black was living in and dealing narcotics from the WoodSpring Suites hotel on Carolina Beach Road.

During July 2020, detectives saw Black conduct numerous hand to hand drug transactions from the hotel parking lot. Detectives also utilized a confidential informant to purchase raw heroin from Black at that time.

A few days after the controlled purchase of heroin, detectives learned that Black was leaving town to resupply on drugs. Once he returned to Wilmington, detectives conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle. During the traffic stop, detectives recovered 8.3 grams of a mixture contained heroin and fentanyl and approximately 54 grams of cocaine.